


Moonlight, Red Strings, and Songs

by sailorchiron



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Christmas Smut, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:42:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 32,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28001838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sailorchiron/pseuds/sailorchiron
Summary: A sequel to Sunlight, Ribbons, and Poetry, my gift fic for @tasyfa last year.  Very smutty.
Relationships: Michael Guerin/Alex Manes
Comments: 206
Kudos: 67





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Tasyfa](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tasyfa/gifts).



> Last year I wrote the fluffiest fluff I've ever fluffed for Tasyfa for the Malex Secret Santa exchange, and I really wanted to keep it going. I've worked on it on and off, and I think I'll be able to finish it in time for Christmas. It is multi-chapter, but the chapters are short. Teensy bits of angst here and there since Jesse Manes exists but other than some insults there's nothing serious. Enjoy!

Michael walked into the house with a spring in his step and a smile on his face. He set Isobel’s books on the console table in the entryway, hung up his jacket, and toed off his sneakers. The house sounded empty, but it was huge, so Ann and Rick might be in the back of the house, he wasn’t sure. He knew Iz and Max were still out Christmas shopping, their cars were gone. He started up the stairs to his room, deciding against food before a shower. If he had a date coming over, he wanted to smell good. 

When he walked into the room, he decided it needed to be cleaned up in a serious way if he hoped to have Alex in his bed later. He loved his room, it was a huge improvement on the living conditions he’d had as a kid, and he even had his own _bathroom._ The Evans Estate, as he’d dubbed it, was a cut above.

Clothes into the hamper. Fresh sheets. Science clutter corralled on the science desk. Academic desk dusted. He made a quick trip down to the kitchen with all of the dishes that had accumulated on the nightstand, and he grabbed a disinfecting wipe for the drink rings on the stone surface. “Fuck, I should probably clean the bathroom, too.” He grabbed the entire container of wipes and, deciding to go for broke, the mop thing and the wet pads that went on it.

Luckily, it had only been a week since Juana and Stacy had come to clean, so his bathroom wasn’t disgusting. He kept it pretty clean, but he wanted to impress the man he was hoping to shower with. 

While the floor dried, he went in search of clean towels and found a matching set in dark green. On a whim, he detoured into Isobel’s bathroom and took a white shower poof out of her stash. She’d learned that Max and Michael never remembered to buy them until they fell apart so she just kept a stockpile in her bathroom cupboard in neutral colors. Isobel was thoughtful that way.

“Floor’s dry, good,” Michael muttered after tapping it with his toe. He hung up the towels and tucked the loofah he hoped a hot bookstore clerk was going to use into the basket of extra bath products under his sink. Bathroom sanitized, he took a quick shower and dressed in the jeans that men and women alike had said made his ass look fantastic and a soft white sweatshirt. And socks, hardwood floors were cold. He checked his phone before heading to the kitchen for a much-needed sandwich.

_This is Alex. ❤ I get off work at 7 is that okay?_

Michael grinned and might have punched the air.

_That sounds good, that’s about when the festivities will begin._

He waited while the little dots danced for a few seconds.

_Alex: Send me the address? Where should I park?_

_Michael: Sure. Park behind my truck, it’s the one that’s not like the others._

_Alex: Lol. 😄 Do I need to go home and change?_

_Michael: No we’ll all just be in jeans. You look great._

_Alex: Aw, thanks you’re not so bad yourself_

He’d been pretty sure Alex thought he was attractive since they’d kissed in the bookstore after a few minutes of casual conversation, but compliments were always welcome.

_Michael: Aw shucks, darlin’. Makin’ me blush._

_Alex: 😉_

_Alex: Can’t wait to see you tonight_

_Alex: Please don’t be a serial killer_

Michael laughed, figuring that was a valid fear when you got picked up by a stranger while you were at work.

_Michael: Only my killer sense of humor._

_Alex: Smoothe_

_Michael: Please don’t be a thief._

_Alex: Only of hearts_

_Alex: I had to sooooo stupid_

_Michael: Smoothe. And stupid._

_Alex: I’m actually terrible at flirting today was a fluke_

_Michael: I was hooked from first sight._

He waited a little while, worried that he’d said too much. He was relieved when the dots appeared.

_Alex: Why do you think I gave up my lunch break to help you shop?_

“Well, that makes me feel good.” Michael knew he was smiling at his phone.

_Michael: I’d like to pretend I’m sorry, but I’m not._

_Alex: I’m certainly not sorry that was possibly the best kiss of my life ❤_

“Um, wow?”

_Michael: It was pretty spectacular for me too. ❤_

_Alex: I have to get back to work_

_Michael: OK I’ll see you later. Would a 😘 be too forward?_

_Alex: 😘 See you around 7_


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I warned you that it was going to be very smutty.

Alex double and triple checked the address Michael had given him before deciding to just let Google Maps take him to his destination. It was about 15 minutes outside of town, far enough out that he was in ranch country, and sure enough, there was a gate marking the way down a private drive at 13 Mesquite Ridge lane. It was dark this far out in the country, and he wondered if he could talk Michael into stargazing. The house came into view around the bend and he slowed, not sure he was worthy of dating a person who lived in a place like this.

It was fucking enormous. Like, movie star enormous. And if they hadn’t bought the house with the express purpose of putting a Christmas tree in the window of the front room, they were wasting their time. It was _made_ for displaying a Christmas tree. No wonder Michael’s sister put a lot of effort into decorating.

Pulling into the large brick expanse of driveway space, he looked around for where to park, and immediately spotted the truck that was ‘not like the others’. There were five beautiful luxury vehicles and two utilitarian pickup trucks, and then there was Michael’s truck. A patchwork of paint jobs, seen better days, and full of at least a thousand percent more character than the other cars in the drive. The truck matched the man, and he was a damn sight more interested in dating a man that drove that truck than whoever drove the dark blue Bentley that was parked closest to the door.

Alex parked and pulled out his phone.

_Alex: I’m here but I’m afraid to get out of the car_

_Alex: Are there armed guards?_

He waited a second. 

_Michael: HAHAHAHAHA_

_Michael: I told them not to shoot on sight._

He laughed at that.

_Michael: Head for the door I’ll come let you in._

Alex climbed out of his aging Jeep and locked it, wondering, _Who the fuck would steal it? Coyotes?_ He gave all of the expensive cars a wide berth and went up the three steps to the porch just as Michael opened the door.

He looked even better than he had earlier. 

Alex knew there was a stupid smile on his face, but Michael had an equally idiotic smile on his face as he pulled him in and closed the door. They just stood there smiling at each other like lunatics for a minute before Michael said, “Look up.”

They both looked up at the grand, southwest-chic chandelier, and Alex immediately noticed the sprig of mistletoe. He grinned and slid his arms around Michael’s neck, feeling Michael’s arms going around his waist, and he sank into the kiss.

And oh, what a kiss.

Alex revised his earlier statement about the bookstore kiss being the best kiss of his life; this was the best kiss of his life. It was the perfect balance of sensual and chaste somehow, even though Michael knew how to use his tongue. He didn’t even think about it when he moved one hand into those soft, soft curls, sliding the other along his neck and down onto his chest. Michael had pulled him closer, arms more wrapped around him than just settled on his back, pressing them together. And it kept going, getting better and better until Michael finally pulled back, and Alex blinked at him, dazed. “Damn.”

Michael laughed softly. “I think it’s safe to say the kiss at the store wasn’t a fluke.”

“Definitely.” He couldn’t resist carding his fingers through Michael’s hair. “Your hair is so soft, I was dying to put my fingers in it.”

“Mmm.” It was a purr. “No more or I’ll just melt onto the floor and fall asleep.”

Laughing, Alex took his hand back. “Shortest date on record.”

“And the floor is not my first choice of sleep locations.” Michael gave Alex another soft kiss. “Come on into Christmas hell.” He took him by the hand and led him to the great room, grinning at Alex’s laughter. “You think I’m joking.” He tugged him through the open doors to the biggest room he’d ever seen inside a person’s house and not in a museum or something.

“I was right,” Alex murmured.

“What?”

“That window exists specifically for a Christmas tree.”

The willowy blonde that was poking through a large box laughed and turned to greet him. “You must be Alex. Isobel.” She held out her hand and Alex shook it.

“A pleasure to meet you.”

“That’s Max,” she clarified, pointing to the already tall person perched on a ladder beside the tree. 

“Hi Max,” Alex laughed, getting a laughing “Hi,” in return. He looked around at the crates and boxes. “Is this all decorations?”

“Yep,” Michael answered. “Max is always stuck on the ladder during decorating, Isobel is always the cruise director, and I’m always in the way.” He grinned when Alex laughed. He had a really nice laugh. “I’m very capable of sitting on the couch and vaguely agreeing to whatever Isobel suggests.”

“He’s great at it.”

“It’s a gift.”

“Mom has a migraine, so she won’t be helping,” Isobel informed them. “The creative control is all mine.” 

“You said that like a Disney villain.” Michael grinned when Isobel rolled her eyes. “What? I’m right.”

Alex was charmed by the affectionate banter between Michael and his sister. It was a far cry from the strained, awkward attempts at communication he had with his brothers. And it made him wonder about age differences between them, they had to all be pretty close. He refocused on Isobel. “What can I do to help?”

“Well, if by helping you get Michael to help, you’ll become a saint in this house,” Isobel quipped. “That green tub over there as all of the lights, if you want to open it up.”

“Sure.”

Michael pulled the lid off of the tub that was helpfully labeled, “Lights,” and looked inside. “How many sets of lights do we need?”

“I think I want to do the white lights this year, and this tree is so big we probably need four or five strands.”

“This level of organization fills my former-military heart with joy,” Alex joked. “I’m impressed.”

“That was actually my contribution to the Christmasing when I moved in.” Michael started taking lights sets out of the tub. Each strand was wrapped around a piece of cardboard with notches keeping the ends of the cords in place and the lights neat. Every piece of cardboard was the exact same size, with the notches in the same place. Each one had a label with the color and length of the strand. They’d been able to consolidate and catalog all the light sets and now they were all perfectly stored in this Rubbermaid tub. “Are you sure you don’t want to do these golden mini-retro bulbs we got last year? They’re so pretty.” He pulled a set out and handed them to Alex. 

“Whoa, these are cool.”

“Here, let me plug them in so you can see.” Michael took another strand from the tub and walked over to the outlet nearest the tree. “See?”

“Okay, those are really cool. I’d vote for those over white lights.”

“Two against one, Max, what’s your vote?” Michael looked up the ladder at his brother. 

“I’m voting for the retro lights, I liked them last year.”

“I’m outvoted.” Isobel huffed out a sigh and rolled her eyes before laughing. “Fine. Start plugging them into each other.”

Having not decorated a tree since middle school, and never having decorated one on this scale, Alex was a little perplexed about how to get that many lights on a tree. “Do you actually have enough lights for a tree this big?”

Michael nodded. “We got six boxes last year, that tree was unnaturally large.”

It took five strands and all four of them to get lights distributed throughout the tree and up into the top tiers of branches. Max stayed on the ladder when Alex, Michael, and Isobel went around the world’s largest black leather couch to check the evenness of the lights. “Looks good,” Isobel declared. “Angel?”

“Angel.” Michael went to another tub that was labeled “Tree Toppers,” and pulled the lid off. “You’ll have to be more specific, we have three angels and two stars.”

“Alex gets to pick.”

“What, my good taste is being called into question on the first date?” he joked as he knelt down carefully next to the tub. His leg still hurt when he knelt. _Hurt is an understatement._ “Not the pastel one,” he said, setting the porcelain doll with flowing silks in pink and blue aside. She was in her own clear tub, he noted. “This one is nice,” he commented, holding up the angel wearing a red velvet gown with ermine trim, similar to Santa. He said her aside to look at the third one. “I think this one is perfect with the lights.” This angel had flowing creamy robes edged in gold and gold streamers. “Do we need to take a vote?”

“Nah, that’s the one that actually goes with the lights.” Michael noticed that Alex wasn’t getting up and casually offered him a hand. He took it and smiled a thank you when he stood. “Didn’t we name that one Agnes?”

Alex burst out laughing as he took the clear box over to Isobel for approval. She shook her head, exasperated. “No, _you_ named her Agnes. I named her Cassandra.”

“Do all three angels have names?”

Isobel nodded. “The pastel angel is Phoebe and the red angel is Veronica.”

“We’ve had Veronica since we were kids,” Max added. “Here, hand her to me.”

Michael took the box from Alex and opened it. “Here, don’t drop her,” he cautioned as he passed the angel to Max. “That has to be some kind of bad Christmas karma.”

“Have I ever dropped an angel?”

“No, but there’s always a first time. Don’t embarrass me with your clumsiness in front of my date.”

Alex laughed softly. “So no pressure.”

Max carefully secured Agnes/Cassandra to the top of the tree. “No bad Christmas karma.”

“Okay, ornaments.” 

Alex laughed as Isobel rubbed her hands together with what could only be described as glee. _These people are so happy,_ he mused. Not what he was used to. Especially not since moving back in with his father.

After watching Isobel debate the baubles for the tree for a few moments, Michael tugged Alex over to sit on the massive couch. It was big enough to seat 12 easily, so deep that two people could snuggle very comfortably for a nap, and soft enough that naps happened pretty regularly. He watched Alex’s face and saw the moment he realized just how comfortable the couch really was. Michael lounged in the corner of the C shape, turned so that he was facing Alex, who sat close to him on the long part of the couch. _He’s so fucking beautiful._ Unable to resist, he reached out and traced a fingertip down his cheek. “I’m glad you came over.”

“Me too,” Alex answered softly. He got lost in Michael’s eyes for a moment. “Tell me about yourself. I only know you buy your sister nice presents and live in a beautiful house.”

Michael laughed. “So I’m Michael Guerin, I’m a grad student over at Roswell College of Engineering. Max, Iz, and I are triplets, separated when we were young, and reunited when we were around 11. When I found myself in dire circumstances in high school, the Evans let me move in here.”

“Wow, that’s crazy.” Alex looked at him; he seemed well-adjusted for someone with such a tragic past. “What’s your specialty over at Roswell?”

“Mechanical engineering. My research is on integrating new low-temp stable plastics that can be used in space flight and possibly colonizing Mars into things that have to be made of metal.”

“That’s ridiculously cool,” Alex replied, amazed. “I’m actually at Roswell too, I’m a computer science major. I just got out of the Air Force,” he explained, “That’s why I’m getting started a little late.”

“Air Force, huh? Join right out of high school?”

Alex gave him a lopsided smile. “It was my one and only choice. Manes men join the Air Force. Unfortunately, this Manes man will not carry on the career military tradition.” He tapped his right knee. “I ruined my leg in Iraq. Medical discharge. I was transferred back here to finish my rehab and transition out where I could live with my dad.”

“Oh fuck.” Michael was horrified. “How long did it take to get back on your feet?”

_How nice of him to not ask how it happened._ “Almost a year. If it’s cold or I’m very tired, I still spend the day on crutches. I just graduated to walking unassisted a couple of weeks ago.”

“That’s why it was hard to stand up.” Michael looked at him quizzically. He’d stood from the floor easily at the store.

“If I kneel on it, yes. That was stupid. If I’m sitting on the floor, I can use my left leg and sorta distribute the weight and pain. It still hurts,” he added, “But not as much as putting all of my weight directly on my right knee.” 

“Got it. What do you do for fun?” Michael rolled his eyes. “That’s such a dating profile question.”

Alex laughed. “It is. But to answer the question, I don’t really know anyone here, other than a couple of my classmates, so reading, online gaming, and guitar are my things to do.” He rolled his eyes. “I used to enjoy clubbing when I was somewhere that I could be anonymous. And I could still dance.”

“You weren’t out in the Air Force, I take it?”

“No,” Alex answered, shaking his head. “Even after DADT was repealed, it was safer just to keep my head down. I wasn’t really out here, either, but this gorgeous guy hit on me at work and I gave up any pretense of being straight when I couldn’t keep myself from kissing him.”

Michael laughed. “I’m bi, but yah, not in the closet. Hence hitting on a gorgeous guy at his work and kissing him right there at the cash register.” He leaned in and was happy when Alex met him in a sweet kiss. “And he followed me home.”

“And you just keep kissing him.” Alex held still there, smiling until Michael pressed their lips together again. “What do you do for fun?”

“I spend a lot of time in the lab, that’s fun for me. I like to drive out into the desert and watch the sunset or look at the stars. I like to tinker with things,” Michael elaborated, “So half the time I’m taking things apart or putting things together that aren’t working here on the ranch. I’m not opposed to having a couple of beers to unwind with friends after class.”

Laughing softly, Alex brushed his fingers over Michael’s cheek. “I could definitely use a person to drink beer with after class.”

“Hmm, I’d be happy to invite you to have a beer after class. And play guitar.”

“I’d like that.” This time, Alex closed the distance and kissed Michael softly. “I get the feeling we’re being watched.”

Michael lifted his head to see Isobel glaring, arms crossed over her chest. “Hey Iz, something wrong?”

“You are supposed to be helping with the tree. And Alex,” she added, pointing, “You were supposed to be making him help.”

They both laughed. “Okay, okay, I’ll pick out some ornaments,” Michael groused. “You don’t have to, Alex, feel free to be comfortable.”

When Michael stood, Alex held out a hand for help up. “No, I’ll help, I said I would.” He thanked Michael with a kiss on the cheek. “As long as I don’t kneel again, I can help.” 

Alex was amazed by the sheer quantity of ornaments. There were entire sets of matched colors, dozens of childhood mementos, hand-blown glass icicles, handmade German angels and doves, stars of every description, a custom ornament for every dog and cat the family had ever had, and an entire Harry Potter quidditch scene meant to be carried across several branches. After a heated discussion about the theme, Isobel chose gold and teal as the colors, pulling out boxes of glass ornaments in those colors that varied in size and shape, as well as being either shiny, satin-finished, or glitter-encrusted. With Max’s help, she twined yards of gold ribbon through the tree like a garland and started placing the globes. Michael and Alex helped as well, focusing on the middle to lower sections of the tree where larger ornaments were displayed. Once all of the color-themed ornaments were evenly distributed around the entire tree, they started with the sentimental ones. This was where Michael backed away and tugged Alex back over to the couch. Alex understood; Michael hadn’t been part of Max’s and Isobel’s childhood, and those ornaments hurt on some level.

They resumed their earlier position, close to each other in the corner of the couch. Alex initiated a kiss, and let it build for a little while before pulling away. “We still have company.”

Michael laughed. “I keep forgetting about anything but you.” He cupped Alex’s cheek. “I really, really like you.”

Alex chuckled. “The feeling is mutual.” He listened to Isobel and Max bickering for a minute. “I wish I could be in the same room with my brothers without considering homicide.”

“You don’t get along?”

“I get along with Greg alright, he’s about four years older than I am, but the other two are really unforgiving of my choice of bed partners.”

“That’s bullshit.” Michael shook his head. “How does it impact them at all if you’re gay?”

“It doesn’t. They’re just dicks.” He rolled his eyes. “Let’s not talk about them. I’ve always been the black sheep of the family, and I’m happy that way.”

Michael grinned. “What does the black sheep in a military family do?”

“He goes full emo in high school. Makeup, skinny jeans, piercings, the works.”

“Oh, I’m sure that went over well,” Michael laughed.

“I had my septum pierced. I don’t know how I survived my dad’s wrath that night.” He tugged on his earlobe. “This ear was pierced too. I was thinking about wearing an earring again. And jewelry in general.” 

“You’re free, you can express yourself,” Michael agreed, grinning. “I, um, find jewelry on guys, uh, really attractive.”

Alex grinned. “Oh really?” _Okay, I know where I’m going tomorrow._

“Yeah. I don’t know why. It’s just hot.”

“I don’t think I’m going to pierce my nose again, but my ear is doable.”

“Scale of 1-10, how bad did that hurt?”

Alex laughed. “11. I didn’t cry, but my eyes watered a lot. The next day was miserable. But punk is pain.”

Michael cracked up. “I don’t even have a tattoo.”

“Me either. I haven’t ever found something I want on my body forever.”

“Same here. My brothers all have stuff related to their branches of the military. I wasn’t interested.” Alex paused for a moment. “I don’t know if I would have stayed in if my leg hadn’t kicked me out. As much as I hated hiding who I was while I was on duty, I really did love my job.”

“What did you do specifically?”

“I was a code breaker, I intercepted enemy intelligence. I’d like to say it wasn’t as cool as it sounds, but it really was as cool as it sounds.”

“Did you jump out of airplanes?”

Alex laughed. “Of course. Not for my job, but you jump out of a lot of planes while you’re in the Air Force.”

“I’ve always wanted to go skydiving but never have.”

“Let my knee heal up a little more, and I’ll take you.”

Michael grinned. “That’s the kind of date I can get behind.”

They snuggled on the couch, kissing and talking and laughing, until long after Isobel had declared herself satisfied with the tree and she and Max had left the room. Michael was caught up in the way Alex’s eyes sparkled when he laughed, and how beautiful he was; Alex was overwhelmed by the sense of caring and acceptance he felt from the most gorgeous man he’d ever had the pleasure to kiss. Eventually the casual intimacy developed into something more intense, and Alex found himself pinned to the couch with Michael’s body, kissing him like his life depended on it. He gasped when Michael pulled away.

“Bedroom?”

Alex nodded, breathing hard. “Yeah, help me up.”

Mindful of Alex’s leg, they didn’t mess around on the stairs, but the minute the bedroom door closed behind them Michael had him pressed against it, kissing him like it was more important than breathing. Alex had his hands under his shirt, warm on his skin, and he itched for more contact. “What do you want? Top or bottom?”

“Bottom,” Alex answered on a gasp. “I need to be fucked so bad--”

“Happy to oblige,” Michael breathed before claiming his mouth again. This time Alex didn’t hesitate to pull his sweatshirt up and he pulled it off as he stepped back. “I can’t wait to see you naked.”

Chuckling, Alex took his shirt off and tossed it on the floor before starting on his jeans. He hoped the gruesome scars on his leg wouldn’t bother Michael. “Feeling’s mutual.”

Michael pulled the blankets down, and they fell into bed, laughing softly at each other’s eagerness before they were kissing again. Alex’s hands were all over him and his legs were around his waist. “What do you like?”

“Just don’t tease me, we’ve had like four hours of foreplay.”

“Got it,” Michael laughed. He moved to the side to dig condoms and lube out of the night stand and felt Alex move over a little. Turned back over to see that he was on his side watching him. “See something you like?”

“Mm, maybe,” he teased. “I know I said not to tease me, but go slow, okay? It’s been a while.”

Michael leaned in and kissed him gently. “I’ll be careful.” 

Alex settled on his back, legs spread. “I’m so glad you came to buy your sister a book today.”

“Me too.” Michael stretched out on his side and kissed Alex again. “Tell me if this is okay, baby.” He rubbed his entrance before pushing in with one slick finger. 

“Fuck, yes,” Alex groaned out. “God that feels good.”

“That face you just made? It should be illegal to be that hot.”

“Oh really?” he answered with a breathy laugh. 

Michael couldn’t help but kiss him, hard and deep, in contrast to his gentle fingers. “Let me know--”

“You can do two.” Alex waited through the slight burn to moan at the fullness. “God yes.”

It took a little longer to loosen Alex up enough to take three, but then he was begging for Michael’s cock. “Fuck me, now, oh god I need it--”

“I’ve got you.” Michael fumbled a little getting the condom open, and Alex’s whining was making him crazy. “Fuck you’re hot.” He gave himself a few lubed strokes before positioning himself. “Ready?”

Alex nodded emphatically. “Please,” he begged. He told himself to relax, knowing it would be uncomfortable at first, but it still must have shown on his face.

“Shh, I’ll back off.”

“No, it’s okay, it’s just been a long time. Please, I’m fine.”

Taking Alex at his word, Michael pushed in, a deeply satisfied noise coming from his throat when he was fully seated. “Tell me when I can move, baby.”

“Now, move now,” Alex gasped out. Michael started rocking, then thrusting gently. “Oh, like that,” he sighed out. 

They stayed like that for a little while, moving slowly, until Alex felt like he was drugged. _Is this what an attentive lover is like? Who knew?_ It felt _so good._ “More.”

“Tell me if I get too rough.” Still keeping it on the gentle side, Michael put more force behind his thrusts, listening to Alex moan. “Good?”

“Yeah, perfect.” Alex couldn’t remember the last time he’d had sex that wasn’t rushed and desperate and somewhat forbidden. “Kiss me?”

Michael kept up the slow, deep pace, his body on Alex’s so they could kiss, for as long as he could. “I’m close,” he panted out against Alex’s lips. 

“Me too.” He speared his fingers through Michael’s soft curls and pulled him into another kiss. “I’m good, you can go harder, I like it.”

“Fuck.” Michael pulled himself up so he’d have leverage, and felt Alex’s legs gripping his body as he started thrusting harder and faster, until they were both making obscene noises. He felt Alex reach between them to bring himself off, which was hot as fuck even if he did like doing that for a lover. A strangled, “Fuck,” fell from his lips when he felt Alex tighten around him, and he came with two more strokes and a satisfied groan.

Alex looped heavy arms over Michael’s back, breathing hard but unable to stop smiling. “Oh my god.”

Lifting his head with a soft kiss to Alex’s neck, Michael smiled down at him. “Good?”

He laughed, breathless. “Yeah.” He laughed again. “Possibly the best sex I’ve ever had.”

Michael grinned. “Well damn, guess I did do a good job.” He kissed Alex’s smile. “You’re fucking amazing, baby.”

Searching his face, Alex whispered, “I like when you call me baby.” It made his heart clench in the best way. 

“I’ll keep saying it, then.” He kissed him sweetly. “Shower or just clean up?”

“I don’t think my leg is up to much more standing today,” Alex admitted. “Getting up off the floor twice today was really stupid, I’m not used to being up this late, and the sex was epic.”

“Clean up it is, then.” Michael kissed him before leaving the bed to find a washcloth. 

Alex sort of drifted happily in post-orgasmic bliss, willing his leg to stop hurting so he could snuggle up to Michael and pass out. He laughed softly and helped Michael when he was wiping up the mess they’d made, and missed him when he disappeared again. He opened his eyes when he felt the bed dip and a rattling noise. “What’s that?”

“Ibuprofen, I thought you might need some?”

“You’re amazing.” Alex forced himself to sit up and took the bottle. “Thank you.” 

“Any sleep preferences?” Michael asked as Alex swallowed the pills with the glass of water he’d offered. 

“I like to stay on this side of the bed if that’s okay. And, uh, I tend to snuggle.”

“Oh good, this is my side of the bed,” Michael answered, pointing down. “And I’m a snuggler, too. It used to drive Isobel nuts when I’d go camping with her and Max.”

“If we go camping, you can snuggle with me.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” Michael turned off the bedside lamp, and tugged the blankets up before opening his arms. “Invitation to cuddle?”

Alex laughed softly and immediately moved to wrap himself around Michael, head on his chest. “Perfect.”

Michael kissed his hair. “Yeah you are.”

“Smoothe.”

“But stupid.” He laughed along with Alex. “Sleep well, baby.”

“Mm.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Teal and gold has been my color scheme the last 2 Christmases. I have some wooden angels and doves from Germany that my mother's had since she was little! I love Christmas but I've been too lazy to a) get my Christmas stuff out of the garage, it's a long walk and b) too lazy to clean up my house enough to have a tree in it. Sigh.


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jesse is a little mean to Alex in this chapter, but it's mild sauce compared to the shit Alex deals with in the show. It's not a huge, important part of the chapter.

“So how do you feel about a _real_ date tonight?”

Alex looked across the breakfast bar at Michael, who was nursing a cup of coffee nearly identical to his. “A ‘real date’, huh? What’s a ‘real date’?” He said it with as much flirt and sass as he could.

Michael smiled slowly. “Casual dinner in town? I can pick you up, we can get to know each other a little better? See where the night takes us?”

“Mm, think it’ll take us somewhere in your truck, cowboy?” _What has gotten into me this morning?_ Alex almost never flirted. _It must have been the morning sex and X-rated shower._

“Mm, I think it might.” Michael laughed, breaking the mood. “It’s too cold for it to go too far in my truck.”

That cracked Alex up. “Right, it’s almost Christmas, as you pointed out yesterday. But, in answer to your question, I would _love_ to have a real date with you tonight.”

Michael looked at Alex, eyes sparkling and a smile on his pink lips, looking delicious in one of his t-shirts with his hair damp on his forehead. _There has never been anyone this hot in this kitchen._ “Any food allergies I should know about?”

“No, and I’ve survived on MREs for months at a time, so I’m not picky, either.”

“Good to know.” He watched Alex drink coffee, sitting on a bar stool like he was a regular fixture in the Evans kitchen. _I hope that happens._ “Pick you up about 6:00?”

“Sounds good.” Alex sipped his coffee with appreciation. Having been working next door to a coffee shop for months, he recognized it as an absurdly expensive Kona blend. _My budget does not include gourmet coffee._ “I don’t want to presume anything, but do you suspect we’ll end up here for the night?”

“It does seem likely provided we don’t drive each other nuts with weird eating habits or gross chewing noises at dinner.”

Alex laughed. “Point taken. I’ll control my urge to shovel food into my face like a caveman.” 

“I’ll avoid eating with my feet.” He laughed when Alex did. “I think it would be safe to say you can pack a bag if you want to wear your own clothes tomorrow.” 

“I have class and work on Monday, so I should probably be prepared.”

“Last week before finals.”

“I’m mostly in GE classes so I’m not really worried about finals. I have As in everything.”

“I have to _give_ finals to the classes I teach. I’m nice, though, I just have review days during dead week.”

“What classes do you teach?”

“One section of chemistry and one section of physics.”

Alex mimed making a note on his hand. “Take chemistry with Guerin next semester.”

Michael cracked up. “I’ll let you know days and times when the schedule comes out. But don’t count on a good grade just because you’re sleeping with the teacher.”

“Aw, Mr. Guerin, I’m trying _so hard_ ,” Alex answered, using his best porn voice. “What can I do to change my grade?”

“Fuck, stop, coffee almost came out my nose,” Michael laughed between coughs. 

“Rest assured that if your class fits with my schedule, I’ll get an A on my own merit.”

Michael sobered. “You probably shouldn’t take my class. Faculty isn’t supposed to date students, it’s a small school, and I suck at being discreet. It’s one thing if you’re just another student--”

“--It’s another thing if I’m actually _your_ student. That makes sense.” He sighed dramatically. “I’ll just have to keep your attention some other way.”

“I don’t think you’ll have a problem there.” Michael leaned over the counter and Alex met him in a kiss. “What plans do you have for the rest of the day?” At Alex’s raised eyebrow, he clarified, “I’m not suggesting we spend the entire day together, I’m just curious.”

Alex relaxed, relieved. “I have to do some errands before I head home, but then I need to do my physical therapy exercises and homework.” He glanced at his phone. “I can’t believe we’ve accomplished this much sex and flirting before 9:00.”

“Hey, you woke me up, I’m just being an accommodating host.”

“That’s bullshit.”

“Yeah…” He watched Alex drain the last of his coffee. “You haven’t left yet and I already can’t wait to see you again.”

“The feeling is mutual.” He carefully stood from the bar stool, testing his leg. Apparently getting off three times in 24 hours agreed with it. “Where did I leave my shoes?”

“Living room, I think.”

Michael walked Alex out to his car, sad to see him leave. _I’m already attached._ “Would you be annoyed if I texted you today?”

Alex smiled, happy. “I would love that. No one texts me and my text tone is an R2-D2 noise.”

Laughing, Michael pulled Alex in for a long, deep kiss. “See you tonight.”

“Can’t wait.”

***

Alex was in a fantastic mood when he walked into the house. Even the decidedly glum atmosphere of his father’s residence didn’t dim his happiness. He’d stopped at a trendy jewelry store on the way home from Michael’s, enduring a little embarrassment at being the oldest person in the store and being ogled by a group of middle schoolers. He had a simple silver hoop for his ear, a plain silver band for his right middle finger to replace the one he’d worn most of high school, and a leather bracelet that had called his name. He wasn’t _quite_ to the point where he wanted to paint his nails black again, but he’d had to admit to himself that the clerks at the store with painted nails and colorful hair had really called to a rebellious part of his soul. There’d been a tempting necklace, too, but he’d decided he should start slowly on adornments, since he hadn’t worn any in 10 years.

He’d also picked up a new shirt to wear for his date. He mostly owned t-shirts and worn flannel shirts that had been in his wardrobe for ages. He’d been active duty in Iraq for years before his leg was injured, and he didn’t have a lot of clothes. This was a really nice dark grey and black plaid in a soft fabric. _This shirt, black t-shirt under it, sleeves rolled up, the hoop, the ring, the bracelet, my new jeans, black Vans...I might actually look young._ Alex never really felt young, he’d never really felt young, research and therapy had told him that was common with child abuse. He was determined to look like a human being and enjoy his date, damn it. _I’m not going to ruin this chance with Michael. He’s amazing._ He could already feel himself getting attached. 

“Where the hell have you been?”

Alex looked up, inches from his door, to see his dad in the hallway, and felt his good mood deflate. “I went out after work.”

“And you’re just getting home, huh? What is it, noon?”

He took a deep breath, ready to apologize, and decided that no, he’d had enough of this shit. “Yeah, it’s noon, who cares? I met a wonderful man yesterday, and I spent the night with him, and I’m going out with him again tonight.” He leveled a look at his dad. “I’m 28 fucking years old, Dad, I don’t need approval to stay out past curfew.”

“You’re a disgrace to your uniform.”

It was a slap in the face, but one he’d weathered dozens of times. “So you’ve said time and again. But last time I checked, I was the one who ranked you and all of your sons, I was the one with a commendation for valor, I was the one with Purple Heart, and I was the one who was too stubborn to die. You can’t invalidate that by insulting me for sleeping with men. So no, I’m not.” He turned the knob, walked into his room, and very civilly shut the door. 

The adrenaline reaction to standing up to his father set in a few minutes later, and he was shaking, but a few deep breathing exercises helped him calm down. He’d known he’d have to face his father at some point today, but had hoped it would be a ‘we will never speak of this again’ type of stand off and not a confrontation. Every time his dad told him he was a disgrace to the uniform, it hurt and pissed him off at the same time. He’d never _wanted_ to wear that uniform, he’d wanted to go off to college and be a musician and live a nice, happy, out life somewhere far from his family. _But damn it, I was a good airman, I was good at my job, and I was respected by everyone I worked with. I was a damned good soldier and nothing I’ve done has been a disgrace. Ever._ Alex huffed out a bitter laugh. _Now only if I believed that._

His phone squeaking with the cheerful R2-D2 sound drew his attention, and he smiled when he saw that Michael had sent him a picture of the Christmas tree.

_Alex: It looks great_

_Alex: Like it should be in a magazine_

_Michael: It probably will be. Ann and Isobel will deck out the rest of the house today._

_Alex: Whoa really? What magazine?_

_Michael: Southwest Living I think, and probably the local society magazine._

_Alex: I can’t wait to see the rest of the house I better use utensils at dinner_

_Michael: 😂_

That did make Alex think, though.

_Alex: Would it be okay if we met at the restaurant?_

_Alex: I love the romance of you picking me up but I live with my dad_

He wasn’t sure how much to say.

_Michael: He wasn’t pleased with your choice of evening activities?_

_Alex: Good way to put it_

_Alex: We’ve never gotten along but he really hates any hint of gayness_

_Michael: So I shouldn’t send you a rainbow balloon bouquet?_

Alex laughed.

_Alex: Yeah let’s pass on that_

_Michael: I’ll just have to charm you other ways._

_Alex: Texting me is working really well_

_Michael: 🌹_

_Michael: I even got you flowers!_

_Alex: I’m touched_

_Alex: Would sending you memes charm you?_

_Michael: My pants are already off from you asking._

That cracked him up. So far, he and Michael seemed very compatible. 

_Alex: Excellent I have a stockpile of memes_

_Michael: I can’t believe you’re sexting me at 12:19 pm._

_Alex: If you’re lucky I’ll send you noods later_

_Michael: I can’t wait!_

Alex made a mental note to find good pictures of noodles to send. 

_Alex: I do need to get to work on my PT and homework_

_Alex: But don’t stop texting it just might take a minute to respond_

He waited a second while the dots were moving at the bottom of the screen.

_Michael: I have work to do too but I’ll be sure to bug you periodically._

_Alex: 😘_

_Michael: 😍_

They spent the afternoon sending each other texts and memes intermittently, both still getting their work done but Alex, at least, felt less alone. He finished up around 4:30, and decided a shower and a shave were in order before going out. He took a minute to pack a duffle with clothes and essentials for the next morning. Planning ahead was good, because it meant he could keep his pain and anxiety meds at hand. He’d done fine anxiety-wise the night before, no doubt due to the fantastic sex and amazing man he’d been with, but his leg had really hurt this morning, and PT had been really unpleasant. Muscle relaxers definitely helped. He only used the pain meds when it was really bad, but just in case, he wanted to have them.

When he headed out the door an hour later, backpack, computer bag, and duffle draped over his body, his dad watched with stony silence and a hard, cold glare as he walked to the door. “I have work after class tomorrow, Pops. Text me if you need anything.” Being cheerful and casual never failed to piss his father off when he disapproved of his behavior. _There’s nothing wrong with what I’m doing. But maybe I should see about getting my own place now that I can walk well enough to take care of myself._ A tiny voice in his head whispered about how much easier it would be to have Michael as a boyfriend if he lived alone. An even smaller voice whispered about living with Michael. _Chill, internal monologue, we’ve known each other a day._

He pulled up in front of Michael’s favorite diner and immediately spotted his beat up truck with the man in question leaning against it, breath puffing out in clouds. Unable to stop smiling, Alex got out of the Jeep as quickly as his leg would allow, and walked over. He probably would have skipped if it wasn’t completely ridiculous for a grown man to skip. “Hi sweetheart.” _Oops._

Michael smiled wide enough to make his cheeks hurt. “‘Sweetheart?’”

“It kinda slipped out.”

“I like it.” Michael took in Alex’s styled hair and rosy cheeks. “Can I kiss you?”

The best kind of terror filled Alex. “Yeah, yeah you can.” He couldn’t resist cupping Michael’s cheek to draw him in. It was a wonderful, sweet, brief, public-appropriate kiss. “Even that kiss was amazing,” he commented, chuckling. 

“Every kiss you give me is amazing, Alex.” Michael held out a hand, inviting Alex to take it. He smiled when the other man linked their fingers together. “I also know that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” 

That made Alex laugh. “You’re right. Let’s eat.”

***

They ended up back at the Evans Estate around 8:30, and Alex was amazed to see the level of Christmas spirit that had happened since the night before. There were pine branches adhered to the banister with gold ribbons, the couch had been decorated with a number of festive pillows, artistic stacks of fake presents and small trees were tucked into corners and against walls, and the porch was now guarded by several grape vine reindeer that glowed with gold lights. “How did they get all of this done in one day?”

“Ann and Isobel are women on a mission when it’s time to decorate for literally anything.”

Alex noticed that a spray of pine branches and pine cones had taken up residence on top of the black baby grand piano that he’d failed to notice in the living room the night before. “Do Isobel and Max play? Do you play piano?”

“Isobel does, she and Max were both forced to take lessons as kids. Max has absolutely no skill at piano, but he can play guitar respectably. Isobel has taught me on and off over the years, but I don’t really play so much as mess around by ear.”

“I’ve always wanted to play, but never had the chance to learn.”

“Well come here, I’ll teach you what I know.”

They spent at least an hour with Michael teaching Alex the basics of playing piano, and Alex picking it up surprisingly well. When Alex played “Jingle Bells” with basic chords for the left hand and the melody with the right, Michael was so impressed he got up from the bench to give Alex a standing ovation, sparking laughter from him. “That was unbelievable. You sure you’ve never played before?”

“Scout’s honor.”

“Were you a Boy Scout?”

“Well, no,” Alex laughed, “Airman’s honor?”

“I guess that’ll have to do,” Michael answered, amused. “You really are the most beautiful man I’ve ever met.”

Alex’s heart clenched again, in the good way. “I hope you don’t think I’m copying you when I say you’re the most gorgeous man I’ve ever met.”

Michael slid back onto the piano bench and pulled Alex in for a little kiss. “Ready to head upstairs?”

“Yeah, I think so,” Alex replied softly, brushing an errant curl from Michael’s forehead. “Do you feel like there’s a connection between us? It’s like something--”

“--Cosmic,” Michael finished. “Yeah, I feel that way too.” He kissed Alex softly. 

The sex was less urgent, but no less passionate. Alex admitted that his knee wasn’t up to the task of pounding him just yet, to which Michael responded with a filthy laugh before sinking down on his cock. “This is just fine, baby.”

“Fuck, yeah it is.” Alex’s eyes rolled back in his head and he moaned. “God you feel good.” He had his hands on Michael’s thighs, gripping. “I’m not going to last, you’re so fucking tight.”

Michael made a few experimental movements before finding the perfect position. “Fuck, me either.” He leaned back, arms braced on Alex’s knees. “This okay baby?”

“Yeah…” 

This was one of Michael’s favorite positions, he loved watching his lover come undone as he fucked himself. And Alex looked beautiful, absolutely overwhelmed with the pleasure of it. “Touch me?”

Alex took it further than that, he found the lube where it had landed near his ribs and slicked his hand again before gripping Michael’s cock. “You look like sin.”

That startled a laugh out of Michael, and he grinned. “See somethin’ y’like darlin’?” He gasped when Alex tightened his fist around him. “Fuck.”

It was just panting and begging and moaning after that until Alex couldn’t take the slow, relentless pace that Michael had set anymore, and gripped his hips to thrust up into him sharply until he came. That show of strength was enough to tip Michael over the edge, and he frantically pumped his cock until he came on Alex’s chest. 

“It just keeps getting better,” Alex gasped out. “Fuck.”

Michael chuckled as he relaxed forward to drape himself over Alex. “Imagine what it’ll be like in a couple months.”

Alex’s heart clenched and he impulsively wrapped his arms around Michael and squeezed. “Well, with all the practice we’ll get in during that time…”

“Mm, exactly.” With extreme difficulty, Michael pulled himself up, waiting to adjust as Alex’s softening cock slid free from his body. “Shower now or in the morning?”

Testing his leg when Michael moved was a shock of pain. “Fuck.” 

“What’s wrong? Your leg?”

“Yeah. I’ll be okay. I just strained it.”

Michael looked at the expression on Alex’s face. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

_Deep breathing, that helps._ “At home I’d take a hot bath.”

“And I only have a shower.” Michael thought for a second. “I don’t have a bathtub, but I do have a hot tub, if you’re up to the walk downstairs.”

“Really?” He smiled when Michael nodded. “If we take it slowly, I can probably do the stairs. Do you have extra swim trunks?”

“Yep, no problem there. Just relax while I go get a washcloth and dig out my trunks.”

It took some effort and a lot of jaw clenching, but eventually both men were up to their necks in hot water. Alex looked around the opulent back porch and pool area. “This is insane.”

“Which part? The waterfall with a cave underneath it? The sun shelf? The spa that’s almost as big as a pool? Or the fire features?”

“There are fire features?”

Michael laughed. “Yep, it’s really cool. Obviously not for a late night dip when I don’t want to wake anyone up, but for your average summer evening it’s pretty sweet.” He pointed at the cave feature that usually had a waterfall flowing over it. “There’s a path up behind the waterfall so you can dive off the top.” 

“That’s ridiculous but also really fucking cool.” Alex willed the muscles in his leg to relax. “This feels amazing.”

“You still look like you’re in pain, though,” Michael argued. “Is there anything I can do? Massage or something?”

“I wouldn’t want you to try to rub it in the dark, especially since most of the massage I get is for breaking up scar tissue, and it hurts like a motherfucker. I just have to soak and let the heat do it’s magic.” Alex smiled. “I can think of one thing that would help, though.”

“Really? What?”

Alex floated across the small space between them to sit sideways across Michael’s lap and settled against his chest. Michael’s arms were around him immediately. “Much better.”

Michael looked into Alex’s eyes, still shadowed with pain, but also somehow pleading with him to share it. “Definitely better.” He happily accepted a soft kiss from him, and tightened his arms around him when he felt the other man pressing his face against his neck. He sank down lower in the water so that less of Alex was in the freezing night air. “Hey, I don’t want to presume anything, but you can come over for hydrotherapy any time you like, baby.”

“Feel free to presume.” Alex sat back a little, looking at Michael’s flushed face and questioning eyes in the soft outdoor lights. “I know it’s been like 48 hours, but--”

“--But let’s call it like it is?” Michael smiled. “Should we make it official?”

“Well, I guess I can update my Facebook status,” Alex teased, then sobered. “I’ve never wanted to be with someone as much as I do you. I’m already so attached to you.”

“Watching you drive away this morning was hell.” He reached up for a kiss. “Boyfriends?”

“Yeah, boyfriends.” Alex breathed out a shaky sigh with a grin. “I have never actually had a boyfriend.”

“Well you’ve already nailed one of the key elements of being a boyfriend, you’re amazing in bed. You’re also great at returning texts, and sending pictures of spaghetti and ramen as noods not nudes was pretty much a proposal to go steady.”

Alex laughed happily. “I got used to calling noodles ‘noods’ when I was younger, and now it’s a running joke with a friend of mine that we send men who ask for nudes pictures of noodles.” He kissed Michael again, feeling as buoyant emotionally as he currently did physically. “If I don’t fuck up, I could have a boyfriend for Christmas, what a concept.”

“You’re definitely going to have a boyfriend for Christmas, because I have no intentions of letting you go.” Michael squeezed him hard. “You just get me.”

“You get me, too. You’re easy to talk to, and don’t judge, and you’re beautiful, and when you smile at me I feel like I’ve won a prize, and you’re fucking unbelievable in bed.”

They floated in the bubbles, trading lazy kisses, until Alex professed himself too tired to make it upstairs if they didn’t get out _now._ They dried off as fast as they could, giggling about how cold it was, and hurried inside. Isobel was in the kitchen when they came in, though, and she gave them possibly the sassiest smirk Alex had ever seen.

“Wow, Michael, seems you’ve made quite an impression on this unsuspecting bookstore clerk,” she teased.

“I do tend to make an impression, this time it just happens to be a good one.” 

Alex laughed. “You’ve made an excellent impression.” 

Isobel rolled her eyes but laughed. “Go upstairs before you freeze. I’ll cover the spa for you.”

“You’re the best, Iz.” 

Upstairs, Alex put on the pajamas he’d brought. “Best way to keep my leg warm is to wear pants,” he explained apologetically.

“I don’t usually sleep naked either, don’t worry about it.”

“I have class at 9:00, so I figure I need to leave here by at least 8:30?”

“I also have to be in class at 9:00, so that works out perfectly. I usually leave at 8:15 so I can get better parking.” Michael pulled down the blankets and slid into bed in his underwear. “Set the alarm for 7:00?”

“Sounds good.” Alex tested his leg, but the hot water had done wonders for the pain. _Good, no drugs needed._ He got into bed and immediately burrowed into Michael’s arms. “See you in the morning?”

“Night baby.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was watching a show about crazy backyards when I wrote this chapter! I feel like if you have money and you live in a place that's hot a lot of the time, you should have a killer pool. I miss swimming! No open pools this year because of covid. Sigh.


	4. Chapter Four

It turned out that waking up at 7:00 gave them enough time for blow jobs and a shower before leaving for campus. Michael made them both travel mugs of coffee and kissed Alex like he’d never see him again before he could get in his car. “What time do you get out of class?”

“I have a 9:00 and a 10:00, then a break, then 1:00-1:50.”

“I have office hours until 2:30, come see me after class. I can show you the lab. You can hang out if you want.”

Alex felt like he was full of bubbles. “That sounds great.” _He wants to see me at school._

“Fair warning, you will get recruited for the robotics team.”

“That sounds fascinating.”

“You will also get recruited for the underground robot fighting ring on campus.”

“That sounds even more fascinating.”

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Michael kissed him again. “I’m in Kepler Hall room 222.”

“I’ll see you around 2:00 then.” Unable to resist, Alex tugged Michael close for another kiss. “Bye sweetheart.”

The utter lack of traffic on the highway meant that Alex was behind Michael the entire drive to campus, and only lost track of him when he pulled into Lot C. _I assume he has a spot by Kepler Hall._ His leg was fairly happy with its long hot tub soak and the gentle, careful massage in the shower by a very sweet boyfriend, so he left his crutch in the Jeep. Roswell’s campus was so small that it didn’t even feel like a walk to get to his history class.

1:50 pm had Alex leaving his biology lecture, which had thankfully been a review, and walking over to Michael’s office. Kepler Hall had mechanical engineering and robotics under its roof, and was five minutes from Lovelace Hall, where computer science and engineering were housed. _Easy access to walk to see Michael._ Alex couldn’t help it, he kept seeing scenarios in his mind of them staying together long term, and the boring reviews he’d had in his classes hadn’t stopped him from daydreaming. He just couldn’t see how he could _not_ fall in love with him. Fast. _Please let this work out._

The door to 222 was propped open when Alex got there, a large metal object that looked a lot like a brake drum that had melted keeping the door from closing. He knocked and peeked in. 

Michael’s head shot up, and he grinned seeing Alex in the doorway. _My boyfriend._ “Hey baby, how was class?” He got up from his messy desk to greet Alex at the door.

“Good, just reviews. Went by about as quickly as a slug going over gravel.”

“Huh?”

Alex laughed at Michael’s perplexed face. “You know, it would have to go up one side and down the other side of each rock? That would be really slow.”

“That is some next level dork shit, Alex Manes,” Michael laughed. He tugged him into the office. “Is it okay if I kiss you?”

“If you won’t get in trouble, then yes, you can kiss me.”

It was a short kiss, just soft and sweet, and Alex felt like he was floating. “I thought about you all morning, I’m a terrible student.”

Michael laughed and pulled one of the chairs over to his desk so Alex could sit down. “I was fairly distracted when I wasn’t teaching chem this morning. Dr. Lawry had me rechecking numbers on a simulation and it was like torture to pay attention to the data.”

At 2:30 Michael took Alex down to the mech lab where they were running tests on a joint where plastic met metal in a frame. “We’ve done all the computer modeling we can,” he explained, “More of engineering is on a computer than in the real world now. But we have to actually test the physical materials to find out if they match the projections, and today we’re putting the joint through an actual stress test. Should be interesting.” 

The lab was smaller than Alex expected. There were three people there already, two guys and a girl, and they were unpacking boxes of plastic piping and metal housings. They all shouted cheerful greetings to Michael as they went in. 

“Hey guys, this is my boyfriend, Alex. Alex, this is Jaime, Todd, and Leah, we’re working on this project together.”

“The first hot guy you’ve ever brought in here and he’s your _boyfriend?”_ Leah rolled her eyes. “Please, next time bring a single hot guy with you.”

“What happened to Crystal?”

Alex looked at Michael. Michael looked at Todd. “I dated Crystal two years ago.”

“No!” Todd looked comically horrified. “Has it been two years?”

“Todd, you’re the most oblivious person on the planet.”

Alex enjoyed the next hour, watching Michael banter with his fellow engineering PhD students and send him sweet, flirty glances. He pulled Alex into the conversation whenever it was natural to do so, but eventually Alex had to go to work. Michael excused himself for a moment to walk Alex out.

“I didn’t get recruited for fighting robots,” was the first thing Alex said once they were outside. He could hear the disappointment in his own voice. “But seeing you enter numbers into a computer so that a machine will try to squish your stuff later was, um, educational.”

Michael laughed. “Okay, yes, that was probably boring. Sorry baby.”

“It’s okay. I was there for the company.” He brushed his fingers over Michael’s cheek. “I get off work at 7:00, I’ll text you?”

“Yes, text me. I’ll be at home annoying my siblings by then.”

“I know we’re outside and there are people, but can I kiss you?”

“Yes,” Michael answered, smiling. “Yes, you can.”

It was a sweet, innocent kiss, but Alex still felt electrified by it. “I’ll text you later, sweetheart.”

“You’d better.”

Alex didn’t know what to expect when he got to work, since he was sure the owner would have heard about his kiss at the cash register on Saturday by now. Felicity didn’t say anything to him about it, though, she just raised an eyebrow at him as he walked by. It was an uneventful shift and he went home, tired in all of the best ways, with no real homework and a boyfriend to talk to all night if he wanted. _Is this what it’s like to be young? No homework and a boyfriend? What will I do with myself?_

His dad was in his chair in the living room when he came home, watching something on TV that was clearly not bringing a smile to his face. “Hey Pops.” When his response was a dead-eyed glare, he continued. “Have a good day at work? I got to see the mechanical engineering lab today, they were doing a stress test on a joint system for a prototype they hope to send into space.” 

“I thought you were doing computer science.”

“It may shock you to learn that there are people who like me enough to invite me to hang out while they’re working.”

“Right.”

Alex shook his head and took his stuff to his room. He’d already texted Michael that he was off work, and sent him a nood (udon this time), and was happy to see that his boyfriend had responded with a picture of a pair of pants on the floor of his room.

_Alex: That nood really got you going huh?_

_Michael: I thought that was the perfect response to an unsolicited nood._

_Alex: It’s so easy to get you out of your pants_

_Alex: Was it the tempura shrimp?_

He unpacked his computer and his overnight bag while he waited for Michael to respond. He put the meds on his nightstand, marveling that he’d had two nightmare-free nights in a row. _Michael is good for me._

_Michael: The soft boiled egg._

_Michael: 😂_

_Alex: I should have known 😜_

_Michael: How was your dad when you got home?_

_Alex: An asshole but no confrontation today_

_Alex: I really need my own place now that I can walk_

_Michael: I can’t deny the appeal of breaking in a new apartment._

_Alex: After New Years I’ll look for a place_

_Alex: My pension and disability don’t equal a lot, even with the GI Bill_

_Michael: We’ll find you something. You deserve a place to chill and be happy._

_Alex: Why thank you sweetheart_

_Alex: ❤_

_Michael: What are you planning for the rest of your evening?_

“What am I planning for the rest of the evening?”

_Alex: Shower, eat, text my boyfriend, avoid my dad_

_Alex: You know_

_Alex: Like I’m in high school_

_Michael: You really do need your own place._

_Alex: I really do_

_Alex: What are you up to?_

He watched the dots bounce for a little bit.

_Michael: Watch TV, eat, text my boyfriend._

_Michael: Pretend to be evasive when Isobel asks me who I’m texting._

Alex laughed out loud at that.

_Alex: Of course_

_Alex: I’m going to shower and eat brb_

_Michael: Take your phone with you._

_Alex: Do you want nudes instead of noods?_

_Michael: Maybe._

“Well, there is a full-length mirror on the bathroom door.” Alex had never sent a nude photo to anyone. It was kind of exciting.

_Alex: I’ll see what I can do_

He thought about sending Michael the picture the entire time he was showering, laughing a little at himself for thinking so hard about something that was so mundane these days. _I guess I can just send him a pic. Hopefully we won’t break up and he won’t use it for revenge porn._

After drying off and combing his hair, he eyed himself critically in the mirror. “Okay, here goes.” It took a minute to find a pose that was both alluring and not ridiculous, but as he was putting on his Air Force issue sweats, he got a response from Michael.

_Michael: HOLY FUCK_

The next text was a picture of a pile of clothes on Michael’s floor, and Alex laughed.

_Alex: Better than udon?_

_Michael: Definitely tastier._

_Alex: I feel like I can check that off my millennial list_

_Alex: Sent a nude ✔_

_Michael: 😂_

_Michael: Congrats!_

_Alex: Of course this means you have to reciprocate_

_Michael: Oh does it now?_

_Alex: It’s only fair_

_Michael: But I’m clearly very shy._

Alex burst out laughing.

_Alex: Oh yes so shy_

_Alex: You totally wouldn’t pick up a random guy at the bookstore_

_Alex: Have tons of sex with him_

_Alex: Or send nudes_

_Michael: Of course not._

_Michael: I’d never do any of that._

There was a pause after that, and Alex was slightly concerned as he cooked mac and cheese. He didn’t get a response during the time it took to cook, eat, and wash up, and was starting to get really worried once he was lounging on his bed with a Coke.

_Michael: Look at how shy I am._

It was a picture of Michael, gloriously naked, taken from the shower in the large mirror. He was still dripping wet and looked good enough to eat.

_Alex: I’m so glad I’m not in the kitchen anymore jfc_

_Alex: You’re so fucking hot_

_Michael: Aw shucks darlin’. Makin’ me blush._

_Alex: I’m rethinking my stance on public sex holy fuck_

_Michael: DON’T TEMPT ME_

_Michael: I’m adjunct faculty I can’t have sex on campus._

_Alex: And I’m a retired Air Force Captain_

_Alex: I can’t have sex in public_

_Michael: We’re too responsible to have sex tomorrow._

_Michael: 😩_

“Could we possibly have sex tomorrow?”

_Alex: I’m on campus until 5 tomorrow, I have class and 2 labs_

_Alex: But those are my lab finals so I might need to celebrate?_

_Michael: I love the way your brain works._

_Michael: Why don’t you come find me after your labs and we can come back here?_

_Alex: Are you asking me to have dinner with your family?_

_Michael: Yes..?_

_Alex: Well that escalated quickly_

_Michael: Too soon?_

_Alex: No just don’t expect a return offer I don’t want you to meet my dad_

_Michael: He’s not my first choice for company. We’re good._

“We’ve been a couple since Saturday and I’m having dinner with his family.” Things really were moving quickly, but it somehow felt _right_ , like nothing else in his life ever had. 

_Alex: He’s a total dick you’re not missing anything_

They texted back and forth for the rest of the evening, only stopping because Alex was exhausted from the late night, all the sex, a full school day, _and_ a shift at the bookstore. He went to sleep happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've written through chapter five, so there will start being pauses, but I'm determined to finish this before Christmas! If not, at least by New Year's.


	5. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What the heck, here's chapter 5. Enjoy!

“Okay, Iz, when I said we could make dinner, I meant _you_ could make dinner.”

“Ha, nice try, Michael. You’re part of this too.”

Michael looked at Alex, who was seated at the breakfast bar while he and Isobel worked in the kitchen. He looked tired but happy, and Michael was content with that. Making Alex happy was high on his list of priorities. _There is no way I’m going to keep myself safe this time. I’m falling hard._ “But you’re _better_ at this than I am.” 

“You are the master of scrambled eggs, and that includes omelettes. I’m sauteeing the mushrooms, Mom made the herb butter, and you can freakin’ whisk the eggs.”

He heaved a dramatic sigh and started whisking. He really was the master of scrambled eggs in all forms. “You see what I put up with Alex?”

“Oh, yeah, whisking eggs is _torture,_ ” he teased. “I went to war in Iraq. No sympathy from me, cowboy.”

“Okay, okay. Wait, Iz, did you grate the cheese?”

“I thought _you_ were going to grate the cheese!”

“I’ll grate the cheese,” Alex volunteered. “Tell me where everything is.”

“Thank you, Alex. It’s the block of extra sharp white cheddar, and the grater is in that cupboard.” Isobel indicated the cupboard with a gracefully pointed toe.

“I’m on it.”

Max joined them not long after that with freshly-grilled strips of rare steak. After that it was a flurry of industry as Michael put together steak and mushroom omelettes with sharp white cheddar and horseradish sauce, cooked in herb butter. It was Alex’s first chance to meet Ann and Rick, Max’s and Isobel’s adoptive parents. Dinner was cheerful and friendly, and Michael paid extra attention to how Alex seemed to glow when everyone just talked to him like a normal person. It made him angry to know that Alex had probably spent so much of his life being beat down and abused that just a casual family dinner where everyone was joking around seemed so magical for him. 

After dinner they all piled onto the oversized sofa to watch Christmas specials. Not actual movies, the kids’ shows that they all remembered. Alex joined in on singing all the songs, amused by the enthusiasm and also warmed by it. He snuggled with Michael on the couch, and no one minded at all. _It’s like they’ve already accepted me. Just because I seem semi normal and Michael likes me._ It was a novel sensation.

Around 7:30 Max’s girlfriend came over, and Alex immediately recognized her from Michael’s favorite diner in town. She explained that she was only helping her father out, that she was actually a biochemistry doctoral student at Roswell and working on some detailed virus research. Alex always forgot that bioengineering was an option at his little school. Liz seemed nice though, and Max clearly thought she hung the moon. 

They didn’t stay up too late since they both had class the next morning, and left Liz and Max making eyes at each other on the couch to head up to Michael’s bedroom. Neither of them were in a frantic, desperate mood; they were comfortable with each other now, and enjoyed a slow build up too. 

“What do you want tonight, baby?” Michael murmured, kissing him again instead of letting him answer.

“I don’t know, you pick. Anything that doesn’t involve me on my knees.”

“Is that only because of your leg, or is it something you hate?”

Alex chuckled. “Just my leg. No emotional baggage, and I actually really like it.”

“How does this sound?” Michael asked, voice low. “We put some pillows under your hips, and I rim you until you’re begging for my cock, and then we do it nice and slow just like that?”

“Oh fuck,” Alex moaned out. “Yes, that.”

Michael kissed him again, drawing it out. “Let’s move around, hm?”

It took a few minutes for Alex to be comfortable with no pressure on his bad leg. But once he was, the anticipation was almost torture. “I should let you know that I might be loud,” he cautioned.

“That’s the opposite of a problem.” Michael got comfortable. “I won’t consider this a success if you don’t scream at least once.” He followed that up by spreading Alex open and licking over his hole. “Nope, that was a shout, not a scream.”

Alex laughed breathlessly but it dissolved into a whimper. “Oh fuck that’s good.” 

“I have to work harder if you’re still capable of words.” He teased the rim with little flicks of his tongue before pressing the tip of his tongue inside. The indistinct sound that came out of his boyfriend was much less coherent. “That’s better.”

It was only incomprehensible sounds and begging after that as Michael’s talented tongue drove Alex crazy. Somewhere in his brain, Alex could tell he was getting loud, but nothing mattered except the sensations - until Michael plunged his tongue deep into his loosened ass and he got the scream he wanted. “Fuck, fuck me, please--”

“I’ve got you, baby,” Michael answered, shifting away to grab a condom and the lube. “Need to move? How’s your leg?”

“I’m good, except I need you to fuck me into next week,” he begged. “Please, Michael, please--”

“You’re so impatient, I love it.” He got into a comfortable position and carefully pushed in. “Are you--”

“I’m good,” Alex answered quickly. “I’m so close--”

“Let me know if it’s too much, baby.” 

Alex’s response was a long moan. “So good.”

Michael fucked him slowly and gently at first, loving the sounds he was pulling out of Alex, but his own needs were getting urgent, and he gradually sped up and increased the strength of his thrusts. Alex was obviously enjoying it from the sounds he was making, and Michael kept going, chasing his orgasm, only to give a startled shout of his own when Alex clenched hard around him as he came, dragging Michael down at the same time. He collapsed onto Alex’s back, hoping it wasn’t hurting his leg, because moving was simply not an option.

Alex’s brain came back online after a while and he sighed happily feeling Michael’s weight on his body. He was in utter, indescribable bliss. _This is perfect._ “That was amazing,” he murmured into the pillow. 

“Yeah it was,” Michael agreed, still not sure he could use all of his limbs. “I can’t believe you came untouched.”

“Me either. Congratulations,” he teased. “We keep having the best sex of my life, every time.”

Michael kissed his neck and shoulders, then carefully moved off of his squished boyfriend. “It’s fucking spectacular for me, too.” He flopped over on his back. “You okay?”

“Mhm.” Alex experimentally moved his leg. _Just a little twinge, good._ He carefully moved the pillows and cuddled up to Michael, draping his arm over his chest. “Being with you is wonderful.” He thought about it a little. “You’re amazing.”

“Is that the sex talking?” Michael shifted a little to wrap both arms around Alex. 

Alex chuckled. “No. Being with you is soothing and energizing at the same time. I can relax with you.”

“Those are some heavy compliments, baby.” He squeezed Alex tight. “You make me feel centered, if that makes any sense. I’ve never really wanted to focus on a person. Normally after about an hour with someone, I need to _do_ something. I’m good just being with you.”

“Even when we’re not snuggling after sex?”

“Mhm. I’ve really liked all the time we’ve spent together.” He thought about his next statement. “I kinda miss you when I’m waiting for you to text me back.”

“Me too.” Alex just floated happily for a few minutes. “If I get my own place, will you stay the night?”

“You’d have to kick me out to keep that from happening.”

“There’s no way my place will be anything like this.”

Michael rubbed Alex’s back. “Isobel and Max got Ann and Rick to let me move in during my senior year when they found out I was living in my truck. The abuse in my foster home was more than I could take, and I ran away.”

Alex hugged Michael with all of his strength. “Oh sweetheart, I’m so sorry.” He lifted his head. “I want to kiss you but we’d have to let go of each other, I can’t reach.”

“You’re the sweetest thing,” Michael answered softly, releasing Alex so that they could move to a position that was comfortable for kissing. “It was a long time ago.”

“Ten years isn’t that long ago.” He kissed Michael, first his lips, then his cheeks, then the tip of his nose. “I’m sorry you had to go through with that, Michael.”

Michael smiled at him and cupped his cheek. “I’m okay, baby. It built character, I guess? I think part of why Ann let me move in was guilt for not adopting me, too. But she didn’t know I was there, they’d separated us because it’s harder to place siblings. Max was hysterical when they took me away, and I guess they couldn’t separate him from Isobel. They didn’t tell Ann and Rick that there was a third child, and none of use spoke English so they couldn’t explain. I ended up in a different city for a couple years in foster care. The day I came back here and started middle school and saw Max and Isobel, they were so upset that they’d left me behind, and I guess they couldn’t stop talking about me to their mom. At that point, they didn’t _want_ a third child, and it’s always been awkward. I think Ann needed a reason to let me come into the family other than, ‘Oops, we didn’t know there were three and really only wanted one in the first place.’”

“Sweetheart.” Alex kissed him again. “Thank you for telling me.”

“I’ve never told anyone the whole story before, but they think we were snuck out of a cult or human trafficking operation when we were found wandering the desert in the middle of the night. None of us have any solid memories from before we were found, really, and we don’t know if it’s from trauma or what. We couldn’t speak either, but eventually picked up English. We were in the news all over the place but nothing was ever uncovered. A lot of people suspected we were aliens,” he explained with a soft laugh, “But we were certified as dehydrated and malnourished but definitely human and about 7 years old by doctors.”

“That’s a fascinating story, I just wish it hadn’t happened to someone I care about.” Alex was looking down at Michael from where he’d propped himself up. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

“As much as I wish I hadn’t gone through all of it, I’m pretty happy with who I am at this point. And,” he added, “All of those events lead up to me meeting you. It’s a pretty fair deal, I think.”

“Keep saying things like that and I’ll cry,” Alex answered, eyes already filling and lip quivering. “If I had to go through hell to come out the person you picked up at the bookstore, I’ll call it a fair deal, too.” He leaned down and kissed Michael sweetly. “We should probably clean up, we both have to get up at a decent time, and your pillows need attention.”

Michael laughed and pulled Alex in for another kiss. “Yeah they really do. Are you up to a shower? Then I can change the bed.”

“My leg is good, yeah. A shower sounds good.” 

They took a long, indulgent shower, washing each other’s hair and bodies, kissing under the hot spray and laughing because that’s much more romantic in movies than in real life. Alex put on his own Air Force sweatpants for bed but the t-shirt he’d borrowed from Michael Sunday morning. Michael noticed immediately.

“Oh, is that yours now?” It wasn’t a special shirt or anything, just a plain light blue t-shirt.

“No, it’s yours, that’s why I’m wearing it to bed,” Alex answered, mock-defensive. “I can’t sleep in my boyfriend’s shirt if it doesn’t belong to my boyfriend.”

Michael laughed and pulled a giggling Alex in for a long, slow kiss. “You’re really cute.”

“I’m not.”

“You are. Just adorable.”

“No.” He couldn’t help but smile though. “It’s really soft. When I got home it still smelled like you.”

Michael felt his heart skip a beat. Alex was pulling on his heart strings. “You can borrow my shirts anytime, baby.”

“We’re about the same size, so same goes for you.”

“What did you bring to wear tomorrow?”

Alex cocked an eyebrow at him, but pulled away to look in his duffle bag. “This t-shirt and a flannel.” It was one of his older Air Force PT shirts. Michael snatched it out of his hands.

“I guess I have a new shirt then.” When Alex gave him an outraged protest that was half laughter, Michael assured him, “You can wear one of my shirts with your flannel. I have some that are this old.” He pressed his face against the fabric. “It’s really soft.”

“It’s yours, then.” Alex felt a lump in his throat. No one had ever wanted to wear his clothes before. 

“Nope, still yours, because I can’t wear my boyfriend’s shirt if it doesn’t belong to my boyfriend.” 

“We’re kind of ridiculous.” Alex could hear his voice shaking, but he didn’t know if it was tears or laughter. _Maybe both._

Michael wrapped his arms around him. “The good kind of ridiculous.” _The kind where I’m falling in love with you and I think you feel the same._

Alex held onto him with all of his might. “Glad it’s the good kind.” _The kind where I’ve been falling in love with you since we met and act like you love me too._

“Can I interest you in some hot chocolate before bed?” Michael loosened his arms a minute amount.

“Yes, yes you can. That sounds amazing.” Alex relaxed his death grip on Michael. “I have limited first-hand experience, but you’re absolutely killing it at being a boyfriend as far as I can tell.”

“You’re doin’ a bang up job of it yourself, baby. Come on.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay now I for real have published everything I have written. Give me a couple days to see what they're up to next! Next week is finals for Alex, might make sleepovers tricky...


	6. Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since everyone has been so passionate about Alex getting his own place, I added a little bit about it.

Alex and Michael spent as much time as possible together during Dead Week. They saw each other everyday, went out to dinner and a movie on Friday night, and spent Saturday together at the Evans Estate, watching Christmas movies, drinking eggnog, and having slow, lazy sex. That night everyone piled into Ann’s Suburban and they drove around looking at Christmas lights, laughing and singing Christmas songs together. No one, including Michael, had been prepared for Alex’s singing voice, and he was gratified by their enthusiastic appreciation of his talent, even if it was a little embarrassing. 

Sunday morning Alex _had_ to go home, much though he loathed the thought. “I really do have to study for finals,” he complained. “Even if these classes are easy, there’s a lot to remember for the finals in some of them. I have to put some effort in.”

“Gah, fine.” Michael pulled him close and kissed him like he was dying and Alex was his only lifeline. “I’ll miss you.”

“We’ll see each other tomorrow,” Alex laughed. “I’ll miss you too.” He twined one of Michael’s curls around his finger. “I’m so happy with you.” And he really was, both in general because of Michael in his life, and in the moment, when Michael had his arms around him. “But I do have to study.”

Michael kissed him again. “Text me when you get home?”

“Of course, sweetheart.”

He missed Michael as soon as he left, and laughed at himself as he was opening the door to his dad’s house. Jesse was gone, probably his usual Sunday grocery run, and Alex took the opportunity to listen to music for a while with his bedroom door open while he studied. He and Michael texted back and forth, but he still managed to make sure he was solid on both of the finals he had Monday, history and English. He had economics Tuesday, biology Wednesday, and computer science Thursday, then he was officially on break. _I should look for an apartment during the week before Christmas,_ he thought to himself. He was getting ready to text Michael that very plan when he heard his father opening the front door. Getting up as quickly as possible, Alex paused his music and went into the hall. “Dad? Need help with the groceries?”

“Oh, you’ve decided you still live here?”

Alex rolled his eyes. “Funny you should mention that, I was just thinking about getting my own apartment.”

“Shacking up with that man of yours?” 

He took a deep breath to avoid snapping at the asshole. “No, not that it’s any of your business.”

“Oh it’s not?”

_Don’t let him get to you._ “Nope, my love life is none of your concern. But I do want to move out now that I can walk.” He followed his dad into the kitchen. “I’m going to start looking for a place next week.” Jesse grunted in reply. “I’ll try to be gone by New Year’s.”

“Huh. I’ll believe it when I see it.”

Alex just shook his head and went back to his room. Michael had texted him while he was having that pleasant conversation with his father. It was a picture of Dick Van Dyke.

_Alex: ???_

_Michael: Unsolicited dick pic._

He exploded with laughter. 

_Alex: The perfect response to noods_

_Alex: Dick pics_

_Michael: 😁_

_Alex: You are absolutely my favorite person on this planet Michael Guerin_

_Michael: Aw, shucks, darlin’. You’re pretty high on my list too._

_Alex: Next week do you want to help me find an apartment?_

_Alex: I’m pretty much done with living with my dad_

_Michael: What did he do today?_

_Alex: Nothing other than be rude_

_Alex: But still_

He waited a minute for Michael to reply, listening to his dad in the hallway. He was almost done with his history study guide, he really did have the information down. English would be a breeze. 

_Michael: Being rude is bad enough. I’ll enlist Iz to help you find a place._

_Alex: Really?_

_Michael: Yeah she needs things to do and has connections._

_Alex: Once I find a place, furniture becomes a problem_

_Alex: I don’t have that much saved up_

_Michael: Also easy, Iz has two storage units of furniture from her old houses._

_Michael: It was too expensive to toss but she doesn’t want it anymore._

Alex blinked a couple times. 

_Alex: Really?_

_Michael: Yeah. I’ll double check with her but she’ll be happy to see it go._

_Alex: Why does she have houses worth of stuff in storage?_

_Michael: After her husband died she sold both their properties and moved back home._

_Alex: Omg I’m so sorry_

_Alex: Why would she give me that furniture?_

_Michael: After Noah died she found out he was not the nice guy he seemed._

_Michael: She wants to forget he existed._

_Alex: That’s so sad_

_Michael: Max and I were sad he was already dead and we couldn’t kill him._

_Michael: We try not to talk about him._

_Alex: I can see why if he was so bad you wanted to kill him_

_Michael: Sometime I’ll tell you the entire sordid tale but not tonight by text._

_Alex: No of course not_

_Alex: If Isobel is okay with parting with some furniture I’ll be thrilled_

_Alex: Thank you sweetheart ❤_

_Michael: Let me text her hang on._

Alex waited for a few minutes. It was funny to think that Michael was texting Isobel when they lived in the same house, but it was a really big house, so it was probably logical. After a few minutes he went back to his study guide, and got through three more items before Michael texted him back.

_Michael: You have Isobel’s blessing to take whatever you want._

_Michael: She said there are dishes and pots and pans in there too._

_Alex: Thank her for me profusely_

_Alex: I’ll bring her flowers the next time I come over_

_Michael: She says she’ll talk to her friend who does real estate about “the market”._

_Alex: There’s a “market” for inexpensive apartments that rent to veterans?_

_Michael: Apparently lol._

_Alex: You’re really going above and beyond in the bf department_

_Alex: How did I get so lucky?_

He waited a little while for Michael to answer, and got two more questions done. Only three to go, if he submitted it before midnight it was five points of extra credit.

_Michael: I think it’s clear that we were meant to find each other._

_Michael: It’s cosmic._

_Alex: It really is_

_Alex: Whatever force brought you into my life I’m grateful_

_Alex: You’re amazing_

_Michael: You’re easy to please baby. I treat you like a person and you swoon._

_Alex: 😘_

_Alex: You better not treat everyone the way you treat me_

_Michael: Okay that’s fair._

_Michael: No one else gets full Michael access._

_Alex: Hahaha_

_Alex: I feel like I have a really good level of Michael access_

_Michael: Just you wait. There are higher levels of access._

_Alex: Do I earn them with good behavior?_

_Alex: Will there be an evaluation?_

_Michael: What you did with your tongue this morning was above expectations._

_Michael: You’re at the highest level of security clearance for how long we’ve been dating._

_Alex: Has it only been a week?_

_Alex: I feel like I’ve known you forever_

_Michael: Right?_

“And I already know I’m falling in love with him,” Alex murmured to himself. It was weird how not scared he was. Michael just...fit. With him. In his life. In his heart.

_Alex: I’m going to keep working to raise my security clearance_

_Alex: I really don’t want to lose you_

_Michael: You’re not in any danger of that happening baby._

_Michael: I don’t want to lose you either. I care about you. Like A LOT._

_Alex: You mean the world to me sweetheart_

_Alex: You’re not just a fantastic bf btw_

_Alex: You’re also the best friend I’ve had in a long ass time_

_Michael: ❤ ❤ ❤_

_Michael: When are your finals tomorrow? I wanna see you._

Alex felt warm all over. 

_Alex: History at 8, English at 10._

_Michael: Cool I’ll be in my office when you’re done. Come see me._

_Michael: We can get lunch?_

_Alex: I would love to ❤_

_Michael: What are you doing the rest of the day?_

_Alex: I work 2-7_

_Michael: Maybe I’ll stop by and bug you on your break._

_Alex: I’ll text you what time I have break_

_Alex: I’d love to see you ❤ ❤ ❤_

_Michael: We’re kinda gross._

_Alex: We are and I don’t even care_

_Michael: Yeah me either. 😘_

_Alex: I have to finish my study guide and go over my English notes_

_Michael: Study baby. Text me later._

_Alex: Will do_

Studying was lame, but by the time he was starving, Alex was as done as he could be. He really didn’t even need to study, but wanted to be 100% sure he got A’s. He made a lackluster dinner of frozen pizza, grabbed a Coke, and went back to his room. He really _wanted_ a beer, but didn’t feel like it was safe with the pain meds. He hadn’t used them in about three weeks, but still. He also felt weird about taking his dad’s beer, since the asshole had made it fairly clear once Alex was working that he wasn’t really interested in sharing groceries with him anymore. _He’s such a dick._

He spent the rest of the night chatting with Michael, even going so far as to _call_ each other. Alex hoped his dad could hear him laughing and happy and that it pissed him off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not the most exciting chapter, but I wanted to set the stage for apartment hunting and eventual declarations of love!


	7. Chapter Seven

“So how would you feel about a house instead of an apartment?”

Alex blinked. “I really expected you to lead with, like, ‘Hi baby,’ or ‘How were your finals,’ not ‘How do you feel about a house,’.”

Michael laughed and got up from his chair. “Hi baby, how were your finals?” He pulled Alex in for a kiss. “And how do you feel about a house?”

“My finals were easy. How can I afford a house? Where is it?”

“Here, come sit down, I’ll show you.” He more or less dragged Alex, laughing, to his desk. “Iz just sent me this.” He turned his computer so Alex could see the screen. “Isobel is an event planner, and has a lot of contacts all over the state. One of her florist friends has a grandma that’s moved in with her, and was thinking she’d rent her house but doesn’t know where to start. Iz thought you might be interested.”

“It’s so cute. How much would rent be? I’m not wealthy.”

“She said she’d just ask for you to pay the mortgage payment, and that’s only $300ish a month.”

Alex gaped. “Seriously?”

“Wanna go look at the house tomorrow maybe?”

“I don’t work tomorrow and I just have one final at 10am, so yeah, I can go look at it tomorrow.”

“Sweet, let me text Iz.” Firing off a text to his sister, Michael looked up. “You look gorgeous in that color, by the way.”

He looked at his flannel, it was fairly plain but a really nice dark blue-green plaid. “Oh, thank you. What color is this?”

“I believe Isobel would instruct us that that is dark teal.”

“I just picked it out because it was soft.” Alex held out his arm and Michael touched the sleeve. “See?”

“That is really soft.” He drew Alex’s hand to his lips and kissed his knuckles. “I missed you last night.”

“I missed you too, sweetheart. Hopefully I’ll have my own place soon so you can come over.”

“Well your dad seems to be a really shitty roommate, so I’ll be happy to get you away from him.” 

“He’s more like a really shitty landlord. I’ve been paying rent since I started working. Not a lot,” Alex explained, “But my dad didn’t want me to think that a medical discharge meant that I could be a ‘freeloader.’” He didn’t realize he’d looked down until Michael lifted his chin with his finger. “He’s awful.”

Michael wasn’t stupid, he knew there was more to it than that but didn’t push him. “Well, we’ll get you moved out ASAP and you can have a happy holiday without him.” He infused as much cheerful optimism as he could into his voice. “He can go eat a dick.”

Alex laughed. “Yeah, I think my holiday will be a lot happier without him. How do you celebrate Christmas over at the Evans Estate?”

“Well, the festivities begin late on Christmas Eve morning with coffee and cinnamon rolls while we watch holiday shit on TV. Then we start drinking eggnog with brandy and have a drunken gingerbread house decorating contest. Then everyone passes out for afternoon naps.”

“This sounds like a killer Christmas Eve. What happens after naps?”

“We have dinner at Red Fern Grill, Rick’s brother owns it and keeps it open for private parties on Christmas Eve. Then it’s back to the Estate for movies and hot cocoa.”

“Wow, that’s just Christmas Eve. What do you do on Christmas Day?”

“Obviously we open presents while we have coffee, then Operation Turkey Dinner starts. Once the bird is in the oven, Ann puts out snacks to munch on all day, there’s booze of course, and Rick puts on football and bemoans the fact that no one else in the house likes football.”

Alex laughed. “Max doesn’t like football?”

Michael shook his head. “Nope, he’s a serious bookworm. Never cared about sports at all. He loves books and Liz. He’s been in love with her since 3rd grade. Took her a while to like him back.” 

“I would never have guessed that about him. Why does he live at home?”

“It’s another sad story. Max, believe it or not, was a sheriff’s deputy, but about two years ago was diagnosed with a heart condition. He had to leave his job and move in with Ann and Rick so they could take care of him before and after surgery.” Michael sighed. “I actually think it’s a good thing. He never wanted to be anything other than married to Liz and to write novels. Since he’s been on bed rest for almost a year he’s actually started writing.”

Overwhelmed, Alex stood and wrapped his arms around Michael’s shoulders. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. You’ve all had so much tragedy and you’re all so young.”

He squeezed Alex as much as he could in the awkward position. “Thank you, baby.” He smiled when Alex kissed his forehead before he pulled away. “You make everything better.”

“Do I?” Alex asked, surprised. 

“You do.” Michael squeezed his hand. “Well, while Rick watches football there are usually people coming in and out, they all have lots of friends and family. I usually avoid that part, I feel really weird around the extended Evans clan. I’m a little rough around the edges for them.”

“I get that.”

“We have our enormous feast, everyone passes out, and when we wake up there’s pie.” Michael looked at Alex’s open, honest face. “You’re invited to absolutely all of it, baby.”

“What, no, really?” When Michael nodded, Alex shook his head. “I can’t, they hardly know me, _you_ hardly know me.”

“I know that it doesn’t matter what’s under that huge tree, my real Christmas present is you, Alex. I want you to spend Christmas with me.”

“I should say no, but--” Alex sniffled, “--But I’d love to spend Christmas with you. One thing, though, I was planning to go see my mom on Christmas day, would that be okay?”

“Of course it is, baby. Where does she live?”

Alex took a deep breath. “About an hour from here. She’s--she’s not well. She lives in assisted care.” _Deep breath, Alex._ “She’s never recovered from some things that happened when we were younger, before she left my dad. Seeing her is--hard. But I haven’t seen her in over ten years. And not since she went to live at Shadow Hills.”

Michael reached over and lifted Alex’s chin again. “Do you want me to go with you?”

Relief washed over Alex. “You don’t have to.”

“I’ll go with you baby. Then we can go back to the Estate and have a ridiculous dinner and get really drunk if you want.”

He laughed, but it was flavored with tears. “That sounds perfect.”

“For now, though, do you want to go get something for lunch?”

Alex wiped his eyes. “Yeah, that sounds great. I have about three hours.”

Michael pointed to his computer screen. “Well there you go, this house is perfect. It’s 15 minutes away, we could go there, have sex, then come back.”

“I’m sold.” Alex stood and leaned over to kiss Michael. “You’re amazing, you know that?”

_I just love you is all,_ Michael thought to himself as he stood. “You keep saying that. I feel like I’m setting you up for failure if you ever have another boyfriend.”

Alex blushed and stepped into Michael’s personal space. “I’ll just have to stick with you, then. I’ll be safe that way.”

“Yeah,” Michael agreed with a whisper. “We should definitely stick together.” He happily accepted a soft kiss from Alex. “You’re pretty amazing too, baby.”

“Aw shucks,” he copied, making Michael laugh. “Hey, nice shirt.”

Michael looked down at his open flannel shirt showing Alex’s Air Force t-shirt. “I’ve gotten a couple looks today.” He smiled. “I’ve never gotten to wear my boyfriend’s clothes to work, it’s kinda neat.”

“It is. I like this shirt.” He’d stolen Michael’s favorite heather grey shirt Sunday. “It’s really convenient that we’re the same size.”

“It is.” Michael grabbed his coat. “Let’s go eat chips and salsa and talk about decorating your new house.”

***

“Hey Alex, is it your break time?”

Alex looked up. “What time is it?” He pulled out his phone. “Yeah in like two minutes.”

“Just go, there’s a hot guy next door that wants to buy you coffee.”

Alex blushed and looked at Natalie. “I’m sure it’s my boyfriend.” _It’s such a thrill to say that._

“If it is your boyfriend, he’s smokin’ hot.”

“Thanks on his behalf.” He left his apron on the counter behind the register and went next door to Uncommon Grounds. Sure enough, Michael was standing at the counter making Eduardo laugh. “Hi sweetheart.” The smile that blossomed on Michael’s face, and the way his entire body brightened when he saw him made Alex feel like a million bucks. _I love this man._

He stopped short. _Do I love him? Yeah, yeah I do._ It seemed insane to be in love with someone after a little over a week, but there was no denying it. _It’s cosmic._

“Hey baby.” Michael wondered what caused the dumbfounded look on Alex’s face, but decided not to worry about it. He opened his arms and was happy when Alex wrapped his arms around him, and he squeezed him tight. “I’ve managed to miss you for the last three hours.”

Alex laughed as he pulled back, and planted a kiss on Michael’s smiling lips. “I’ve been too busy to miss you, unfortunately. I’m glad I’m off in two hours.”

“Do you want coffee? My treat.”

“You’re sweet, but I get a discount.”

“Okay, your treat.”

“It’s a deal.”

They ordered lattes, and it only took Eduardo a few minutes to make them. All of the tables were taken except one that was a half booth...and the chair had been taken. Not seeing this as a problem, Michael sat down and tugged Alex down next to him on the bench. He went willingly with a soft laugh, and sighed happily when Michael’s arm went around his shoulders. “This is definitely the best break I’ve ever taken.” He relaxed into the warmth of Michael’s body. “Natalie says you’re ‘smokin’ hot’.”

“Is Natalie the girl with space buns who was staring at me with her mouth open?”

“That would be her, yes.”

“Good to know.” He sipped his latte, absolutely elated to have Alex in his arms. “Tell her I love space buns but I’m completely off the market.”

Alex giggled. “Will do.” He tested the side of his cup, it was cool enough to drink. “She flirted with me until the fateful day that you walked in here and kissed me at the cash register.”

“I have never had so much fun Christmas shopping in my life.” Michael decided to change the subject. “Isobel talked to D’Andra, and if you like the house tomorrow, it’s yours. Her grandma was super into you moving in because I guess her husband, D’Andra’s grandfather, was a veteran too.”

“Seriously?” Alex looked at Michael, stunned. “I could be a horrible piece of shit, she shouldn’t rent to me just because I’m a vet.”

“You’re not a horrible piece of shit,” Michael laughed. “And she’s renting to you because D’Andra knows she can trust Isobel. Your service to your country was just icing on the cake.”

Alex shook his head. “In literally every way, my life has improved since I met you.” He tilted his head, and Michael met him in a kiss. “You make everything better, sweetheart. I’m so glad Isobel likes poetry.”

“We’re pretty well-matched,” Michael answered. “Both engineers, both musicians, both drop-dead gorgeous.” He laughed when Alex did. “Both geniuses, both had shitty childhoods.”

“Both liberal, both non-religious, really similar tastes in, ahem, adult matters.” Alex grinned when Michael cracked up. “There are children here.”

“Both wear a lot of flannel,” Michael added to the list. “Both believe in cosmic relationships.”

“Our relationship is absolutely cosmic,” Alex agreed. 

“It’s like we were built from the same star stuff.” 

“Deep emotional connection and Carl Sagan. You’re the perfect man.” Alex finished his coffee. “I have to get back to work, sweetheart.”

Michael heaved a deep sigh. “Yeah, I should go home so I don’t just follow you around making eyes at you and scaring off customers.”

“You know,” Alex said, laughing, “Felicity is a great boss, but I think that would be a little bit too much for her.” He stood up and moved back so that Michael could stand too. “Thank you for coming to see me.” 

“It was literally my pleasure.”

Alex followed him out front to give him a kiss goodbye. “I’ll text you when I get home.”

“I’ll be waiting.” He managed to not tack on an ‘I love you’. Barely. 

“Go get in your truck, it’s cold.” Alex gave him another quick kiss then hurried back inside. He’d almost blurted out an ‘I love you’ but hadn’t made a fool of himself. _Who confesses love after less than two weeks?_

He saw Natalie when he got his apron. “Michael says he likes your space buns but he’s off the market.”

“That hot guy actually was your boyfriend? Damn boy.”

Alex laughed and put his apron on. “I know, right?”

*** 

Michael peeked into the living room when he got home, and saw that Isobel was sitting alone on the big couch, looking at her phone. Of all of them, Isobel was the most extroverted, and was usually out and about doing things. It was rare to find her just staring at her phone all by herself. “Iz? Everything okay?” When she looked up he was relieved to see that she wasn’t crying. 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she answered, and Michael was pretty sure she was faking her good mood, but didn’t call her on it. “You just now got done at school?”

He wandered into the room and sat down with his sister. “No, I hung around until Alex’s break, then went and had coffee with him before I came home.” 

“That’s adorable.” He looked at him, and Michael wondered what she saw. “You really like him, don’t you.” It was a statement, not a question.

“I’m in love with him.” He couldn’t keep the smile on his face from growing into a grin. “Is love at first sight really a thing? Because damn if that’s not what happened.”

Isobel laughed. “Are you joking?”

He shook his head. “No, absolutely not. I’ve loved him since we met, and I’m so in love with him now that I don’t know what to do with myself. Every conversation we have just makes me more and more sure that we’re meant to spend our lives together.” He sighed. “And when he looks at me, I’m pretty damned sure he feels the same.”

“As much as I want you to have this mystical--”

“Cosmic,” he interrupted.

“--Romance, I don’t want you to get hurt. You hardly know each other.” She shook her head at him, blonde hair and gold earrings catching the light in the room. “I asked you once if there was anyone in your life you’d give up anything to protect.”

“Alex,” he answered firmly. “I love him, Isobel. 

“It’s real? You’re sure this isn’t an infatuation? I mean, he’s gorgeous and seems really sweet, but seriously, are you sure it’s love?”

Michael ran his fingers through his hair. “I thought about that, I really did. I know I can be impulsive, I know I dive into things head-first. But it’s different. I don’t know how to explain it. It’s like we’re two halves of a whole. We just fit together. He said the same thing.”

“Then I’m happy for you, Michael, I really am.” She sighed. Micheal knew she was conflicted. Noah had seemed like the perfect man, and had been a loving, attentive husband--but it had all been fake. He was a cold manipulator who had only pursued her because she was what he needed as a successful attorney’s wife. Now she knew he’d never loved her, he’d just wanted to own her, and it hurt. Michael could see that she wanted to be happy for him, but she was sad for herself. 

“Iz, there’s someone out there for you. Just wait. It wasn’t Noah. It wasn’t Crystal or Maria for me. It wasn’t Jenna for Max. Don’t give up on love yet.” He was hit with genius inspiration. “After Christmas Alex and I can take you to a gay bar.” He laughed when she blushed. “Anything you’d like to share with this class, Miss Evans?”

“No!” She laughed with Michael for a minute then sobered. “No, really, Noah was stalking me while I was still in high school. He pounced on me as soon as I was legal. I didn’t date much in high school, and I never really had a party phase to, you know, get crazy, because I was married at 20. I don’t know.”

“It sounds like you need to go a gay bar with me and Alex. Large quantities of alcohol should be involved.”

Isobel was laughing, and it made Michael happy to see her mood lift. “Okay fine. I hope you and Alex are good wingmen.” 

“I’m especially skilled at getting myself laid, I’m sure I can transfer that to other people.” He grinned when she laughed. “I don’t know about Alex, though.”

“I’ll just have to take my chances, I guess.” She smiled. “I’m glad you met Alex buying me a present.”

“I am so fucking glad you like poetry.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe I'll write New Year's Eve at Planet 7, who knows? xD


	8. Chapter Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is dedicated to all of my readers who demanded it! xD

Alex got the keys to his little house on Friday. Michael was at school posting grades so he couldn’t be there, which was a crying shame in Alex’s opinion. Michael had made this house possible. He took a selfie in front of the fireplace and sent it to his boyfriend.

_Alex: Wood burning fireplace=cozy blanket sex_

_Michael: Like in a movie?_

_Alex: Yes except with us not actors_

_Michael: This sounds like a fantastic idea._

_Alex: I thought so_

_Alex: When can I look at Isobel’s furniture?_

He walked through the house again while he waited for Michael to reply. All of the rooms had been painted white in the last week, D’Andra told him he could repaint if he wanted but that she had been sure her grandmother’s pastel palette wasn’t his cup of tea. White was fine for now, and it looked pretty with the natural wood of the door frames and window sills. The floors were beautiful, and the tilework around the fireplace and in the kitchen was absolutely spectacular. Alex had never really thought of himself as a connoisseur of the vintage look, but he loved it in this house. It had a master bedroom and bathroom, and a second bedroom as well as a hallway bathroom. There was room in the kitchen for a small table, and a small dining room as well. The living room had a huge picture window that was probably going to let in a hellish amount of light in the sweltering hot summer; he was sure D’Andra’s grandmother had had drapes up but he was going to need something. And privacy was always nice. Especially when one wished to have sex with one’s boyfriend in the living room. Frequently.

_Michael: I’m out of here at noon, how about then?_

_Michael: Iz doesn’t have plans today._

Alex checked the time, it was a little after 11.

_Alex: That works_

_Alex: They cleaned the fuck out of this place_

_Alex: It still smells like Fabuloso_

He started a list of things he needed to buy on his phone while he waited for Michael to reply. 

_Michael: Awesome. Iz says there are curtains, blankets and towels packed away too._

_Alex: I can’t believe this_

_Alex: Nothing good ever happens to me_

_Alex: And then I met you and BOOM_

_Michael: You deserve good things baby._

_Michael: And Isobel wants to get rid of enough stuff to go down to one storage unit._

_Alex: Well I need two beds, a desk, a couch, coffee table, bookcases_

_Alex: Probably an entertainment center, dining table and kitchen table_

_Alex: Chairs_

_Alex: Dishes, pots and pans, towels, sheets, blankets_

_Alex: Pillows too but I’ll get some at Target_

_Michael: Don’t bother Iz has these fancy super nice ones sealed up in there._

_Michael: I gotta concentrate for the next like 45 minutes so I can leave._

_Alex: Work I’ll meet you at the storage units around noon 😘_

_Michael: ❤ ❤ ❤_

Alex locked up the house and headed to Target for things that he needed that Isobel wouldn’t have, like cleaning supplies and laundry detergent. He got some basic groceries that he liked to have around, and bathroom organizer things since he didn’t have anything like that of his own. He didn’t own many things, and most of them were in boxes in his father’s garage as it was. _I wonder how I’m getting all of my new found furniture to the house._ That required some thought.

When he got to the storage building, Isobel was already there unlocking the doors and opening them. To his surprise, though, she’d driven a pick-up instead of her usual SUV, and Max was there too, his truck right next to it. There were several other people gathered around, and Alex was curious as he walked up. “Hey guys.”

“Alex!” Isobel hugged him. “Okay, with Michael, Max, Maria, and I, we have four trucks, and then you and Liz both have SUVs, we should be able to get everything you want to your new abode in one trip.”

Floored, he just stared at them. “Wow, okay, thank you.” He looked at the two girls with Liz, whom he’d never met. “Hello, beautiful people, I’m Alex.”

The taller woman, who looked like she was African American mixed with other heritages, laughed and gave him a hug. “I’m Maria, Liz’s best friend. And this is her sister, Rosa.”

“She’s also Michael’s ex, but neither of them will make it awkward.”

“I promise,” Maria agreed. “We’re good friends now.”

He shook his head to clear it. “What has happened to my boring but shitty life?”

“We’re not going to let someone who Michael adores have a shitty life,” Isobel replied. “He doesn’t open up to many people, and he _clearly_ cares about you more than anything on the planet. And,” she added, “He’s told me a little bit about your dad and I already hate him.”

Alex laughed weakly. “Yeah, he’s kind of an asshole. I won’t be sad to move out.” _And the winner of the understatement of the year award goes to…_

Michael pulled up a moment later, and greeted Alex with a tight hug and lingering kiss. “Hi baby.”

“Hi sweetheart.”

“Okay, that’s enough,” Isobel quipped after they got lost in each other’s eyes for a minute. “I have a catalogue of everything, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find what we need. Let’s get to it.”

Alex shook his head again. “Okay. Where should we start?”

It took a couple hours, but eventually they had a full bed for the second bedroom and a queen bed for the master, both with beautiful wooden head- and footboards loaded into Max’s truck. Dressers that matched both bedroom sets, a desk and office chair, plastic bins of sheets and towels, and a box of pots and pans went into Maria’s classic red pick-up. A small round kitchen table with four chairs, a larger rectangle table and six chairs, and a leather ottoman went into Isobel’s truck. A dark grey couch and the entertainment center went into Michael’s truck along with a small console table that Alex had said would be great for putting his keys on by the door. Into Alex’s SUV went a carefully packed crate of dishes and glasses, and a box of miscellaneous kitchen stuff, as well as the vacuum packed pillows and the couch cushions. At the back of the first shed there was a large bin that Isobel opened and asked Alex to look through.

“These are all decorative things that I couldn’t part with, but wouldn’t want in my own house again. Look and see if there’s anything you want.”

“Oh...wow…” Alex lifted a woven hanging off the top. “These...did you buy them from--”

“Actual Native American artisans, yes. All of them.”

He carefully removed each hanging, rug, and pillow from the big tub. “I’m Navajo and I don’t have anything--”

“It’s all yours then, Alex. Here,” she moved a few feet away, “This one is mostly blankets and pottery.”

Michael lifted out the wool blankets and picked up a vase. Unwrapped, it was a beautiful piece. “For your mantle, baby?” 

Alex nodded, choked up. “I’d love that.” He held out his hand, asking Michael to help him up. “I’m stupid, I squatted.”

Michael carefully returned the pot to the tub. “We can sit in the hot tub later.” He helped Alex to his feet and pressed a kiss to his lips. “These tubs will fit in Liz’s car.”

“Michael, is there still room in your truck for these rugs?”

They looked over at Isobel, who was standing with three rolled up area rugs. “Yah, those will fit. Living room and the two bedrooms?”

She nodded. “Can’t have cold hardwoods in the bedrooms without rugs. These are pretty neutral, they should work with anything.”

“Well, considering the blankets are all yours too, I’m sure they’ll match,” Alex laughed. “I don’t know who I can ever thank you enough.”

“Kick Michael’s ass regularly,” Max suggested. “We’d both love that.” 

Once at Alex’s house, it took a while to get everything in place, but Isobel was an excellent project manager and made sure things were done in a logical order. Alex started a load of sheets in his surprisingly brand new washing machine, and started to fill the sink with water to wash dishes, but Michael stopped him.

“We have all weekend to wash dishes, baby. Let’s go get your stuff from your Dad’s house before he gets home.”

Alex checked his phone, they’d be cutting it close. “Okay. Everything I have should fit in my Jeep and your truck.” He moved close to Michael and was grateful when he wrapped his arms around him. “Let’s go.”

He thanked everyone for their help and promised he’d have them all over when the house was ready to go, then he and Michael drove over to Jesse’s house. Alex was filled with dread at the thought of his dad seeing Michael with him. He didn’t _think_ he would try anything, but just in case, he warned Michael when they pulled up in front of the house.

“If my dad gets home before we’re done, just, don’t let him provoke you,” he cautioned. “He’s violently homophobic, and he’ll try to goad us into an altercation, and he _will_ press charges if you punch him.”

Michael understood in a blinding flash that Jesse Manes was not only an asshole, he was a child-abusing asshole -- it would be impossible _not_ to recognize that Alex’s body was screaming _fear._ “Let’s hurry then, baby.”

Alex opened the garage and left Michael to put the boxes in the truck, and went into his room to pack up his essentials. His clothes were military-neat in the dresser, and went right into his suitcase, all of the stuff hanging in the closet followed quickly. Socks, underwear, pjs into one of his duffles. Toiletries and random things in his room in the other one. The computer went in its bag, and as much stuff as would fit in his backpack was crammed into it. He grabbed an empty box from the garage and put books in it, and asked Michael to come help him carry stuff when he was done with the boxes.

“This is the room I spent my childhood in,” he told his boyfriend. “I wasn’t allowed to put up posters or pictures, wasn’t allowed to paint, had plain sheets and military-issue blankets my entire life. I used to have a boombox over there--” he pointed to the dresser, “and my guitar has always been in that corner.” He scooped up his beloved instrument. “My mother gave me her guitar when I was about 8, right before she left Dad.”

Michael tugged him close and kissed his forehead. “You never have to sleep in here again, Alex.”

“That’s a huge relief, honestly.”

Together they got everything out of Alex’s room. On impulse, he grabbed some grocery bags and cleared out all of the food he’d bought for himself, and tucked it into the passenger floorboard of the Jeep. He was locking the door behind them when his father pulled up in the driveway. He braced himself. _I never wanted Michael to meet him. I never wanted this to happen._ He just stood there, unable to look away, as his father climbed out of his car.

Suddenly Michael was standing with him, and he took his hand. “Dad--” He stopped at the thunderous look on his father’s face. “Dad--”

Michael intervened. “We’re done here, right Alex? Let’s go, baby.” He squeezed his hand and tugged him toward his car. “Don’t let him steal this moment from you with his hate. You’re free. Let’s go home.”

Alex took a shuddering deep breath and nodded. “Yeah.” He got behind the wheel, and watched as Michael got in his truck, started the engine, and pulled away. _This is it. I’m free._ It didn’t quite feel like freedom, it felt too good to be true. He met his father’s eyes where he was just standing on the dead lawn, and sighed. “Okay, Alex, let’s go home.” He started the Jeep, and with one last glance at Jesse Manes, drove off to a new chapter in his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had sorta planned a confrontation but decided not to hurt Alex that way. I was going to do something along the lines of Jesse's rant in the tool shed about Alex's 'perversion' and 'under his roof' but decided that was too dark. This was dark enough! More festivities in the next chapter!


	9. Chapter Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not too long, just a resolution.

Michael was getting out of his truck when Alex pulled into his new driveway. He bolted out of the Jeep and went straight into Michael’s arms. “Thank you, thank you so much,” he whispered.

“You’re shaking, baby. It’s okay, everything’s okay.” He just held him tight. 

“I didn’t want him to hurt you.”

Michael suppressed his rage. _This man went to war. He nearly died. And his father terrorized him to the point that he’s shaking in my arms with the fear that he’d hurt me._ “He didn’t, though, we got away. Nothing worse than a dirty look. And you don’t ever have to see him again.”

Alex laughed bitterly and pulled away a little. “Well, eventually my brothers will probably get married, so I’ll see him at their weddings. But for the most part, I can avoid him.” He kissed Michael softly. “Thank you, sweetheart. You’re amazing.”

“Come on, it’s freezing, let’s go in the house.”

They went inside, whereupon they discovered a problem. “Lamps. I don’t have any lamps. It’s going to be really dark in here until I get some.”

Michael laughed. “I can’t believe that Isobel didn’t think of that.” They carefully went into the kitchen where he flipped on the light. “Let me text her.”

Alex laughed a little and sat at the table. _Today has been a rollercoaster._

“Well, Iz just sent me the smacking-your-forehead emoji and said she had tons of lamps in the garage at home. Wanna go out there? We can have dinner, soak in the hot tub, and get illuminated?”

“Sure. Let me put the sheets and towels in the dryer and throw some blankets in the washer. I’d like to sleep here tonight.”

“I’m firmly in favor of that.”

“You too, of course. I want you to stay.”

Michael leaned over to kiss Alex where he was sitting at the table. “I’d love to.”

Together they unloaded everything from their trucks, and Alex put the groceries he’d brought away. They decided to leave Alex’s Jeep at home and drive out together in Michael’s truck. When they walked into the Evans Estate, Max called them into the kitchen where he had French toast and sausage ready - telling Alex that breakfast for dinner was a comfort food for him and Isobel. Dinner was cheerful and Alex felt himself relaxing, the specter of his father fading away in the warmth of friendship and family. After dinner, Isobel took Alex and Michael to the garage.

“How can you call this a garage? It’s like an entire parking structure.”

Isobel laughed. “We have a lot of cars out here, so we have to have space. In theory, anyway,” she explained. “In reality, it means Mom and I have a lot of places to hoard stuff.” 

Inside, Isobel walked them through her ‘hoard’ of lamps, pulling out the ones that she thought would be best in Alex’s house. “You need nightstands, end tables, and curtain rods, too.”

“We only have my truck, Iz,” Michael laughed. “How about a couple lamps, the nightstands that go in the master, and I measure for curtains tomorrow?”

“There are blinds on the bedroom windows, it’s fine,” Alex assured her. “It’s too late to try to put up curtains.” He didn’t say that the day had been an emotional rollercoaster and he really needed to relax, not work on home improvement projects. 

“That works. We can take our time dressing up your little house. There are drapes in one of the boxes that will be perfect for that picture window in the front room, and I do have curtain rods for them.”

“Oh good.” Alex pulled Isobel into a tight hug. “Thank you so much, Iz.”

She hugged him back. “Anything I can do to help, I will.”

After wrapping all of the new goods for the house in furniture blankets and loading them into Michael’s truck, Alex admitted to Michael that his leg was killing him and he had to get off of his feet for a while. 

“Fuck, I didn’t think about your leg,” Michael cursed by way of apology. “Want me to give you a piggyback ride back to the house?”

Alex laughed. “No, I can walk.” _I think._

“No, I want to see Michael give you a piggyback ride!” 

Michael looked at Alex. Alex looked at Michael. Michael crouched a little, and Alex sighed and got into position. It was awkward and hilarious and he was wheezing with laughter by the time Michael stumbled up to the front door of the house. “That was the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever done,” he announced as he slid off Michael’s back. “I don’t know if that really helped my leg but it took care of my dignity.”

“You’re heavier than you look,” Michael panted. “I’ll need to work out if I’m going to keep carrying you around.”

Alex laughed. “I think I’ll stick to walking, thanks for the offer, though, sweetheart.” He contemplated the stairs to Michael’s room. “Do you think you could bring me your spare swim trunks? I can change in the bathroom down here?”

“Of course, baby.” Michael tugged him close and kissed him. “Hey, when we get back to your place, and it’s bedtime, take your meds so you can walk tomorrow, okay?”

He nodded reluctantly. “I’ll have to, I really overdid it today.”

“What do you have to do tomorrow?” Michale noticed that Alex was leaning his weight on him and rubbed his back.

“I have to work from 2-7, I’ll be fine by then.”

“You sure?”

Alex pulled away a little. “If not, I’ll take my cane, I can do pretty much everything in the store with it. I’ve only been bipedal for about 4 weeks.”

Michael nodded. “Be right back.”

Hot water had never felt so good. “This is exactly what I needed. An alcoholic beverage would make it perfect. But not if I’m going to take pain meds and muscle relaxers tonight.”

“Ann makes devastating margaritas, when it’s warm and you’re not suffering from acute muscle strain we can get fucked up in the hot tub. Don’t be surprised if everyone joins in, though.”

“I love margaritas, so that’s a go for when it’s not freezing outside.” 

They headed back to Alex’s little house before the hot water put them both to sleep. They each carried a lamp into the house, one for the living room and one for the bedroom, Alex put the blankets in the dryer, and they collapsed onto the couch. Alex sighed. “What an eventful fucking day.”

Michael laughed softly. “Yeah, it was a big day. But now you’re free, baby,” he said. “You can live whatever life you want.”

Alex smiled and leaned moved to cuddle into Michael’s side. “A life with you, sweetheart. I didn’t know that’s what I wanted until I found you. Or,” he corrected, “You found me.”

“That’s what I want, too. A life with you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We move on to festivities in the next chapter!


	10. Chapter Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone had a good Christmas! I'm running late with this, so I'm not going to make my New Year's deadline, unfortunately. Still, I think you'll enjoy this chapter!

“Isobel, you don’t stand a chance against two engineers.” Michael dodged frosting that was flicked in his general direction. “You know I’m right.”

Alex laughed, more than a little drunk from eggnog and brandy. Isobel throwing icing at Michael was hysterical under the influence. “You really don’t. Our house will be the best.”

“Okay, maybe _structurally,”_ Isobel stated, with an eye roll that could be seen from space. “But from an _aesthetic_ standpoint, mine will be superior and you all know it.”

“Yeah but _Max_ is your teammate,” Michael argued. “You’re going to fail epically.”

“Hey!” Max laughed. “Are you saying I’m not aesthetic?”

“Cowboy aesthetic maybe?” Alex answered, laughing. “I mean, Michael’s got the same aesthetic--”

“But I’m an _engineer,”_ he argued. “It’s a _structure._ My aesthetic doesn’t matter.”

“Okay, get over here and start building, engineer.” Alex tugged his boyfriend to their spot on the kitchen counter. “How many kits did you guys even get to have this many raw materials?”

“Seven,” Ann answered. “And assorted candy for ‘flavor.’”

Alex laughed at the terrible pun, but Isobel just rolled her eyes. “Don’t encourage Mom with puns.”

“I love puns. Please, share any puns you’d like, Mrs. Evans.”

“Michael, your boyfriend is welcome any time.”

“Of course he is, now that he’s doomed us to a day of puns!”

Alex had never actually built a gingerbread house, but it didn’t seem hard. Michael had a game plan, and they discussed their strategy. “Our house is going to be amazing.”

Building gingerbread houses wasn’t too hard, even drunk, but being drunk made it hard to do _well._ Michael and Alex turned out a really well made house; they didn’t have icing globs anywhere, the windows were all even, and the small cracks that had developed had been expertly patched with icing and crumbs. Ann and Rick had a traditional cute house, not the best crafted but still a solid effort. Isobel’s house won the day, though. She’d used the different candies and sprinkles to make hers have a tower with a different roof, scalloped shingles, shutters on the windows, and _landscaping._ She’d used suckers and gumdrops to make trees and shrubs. She’d made a porch with pretzel sticks and sour ribbons as a roof. It was a gingerbread work of art. 

“The only prize for winning is bragging rights,” she explained, “But still. I think I outdid myself this time.”

“You really did.” Michael took pictures from all angles of the house. “I think next year _we_ should be a team, Iz, between my knowledge of physics and your decorator sense, we could do something out of this world.”

“Have you ever watched videos from baking competitions for gingerbread houses?” Alex looked up from where he was adding a pretzel antenna to their house. “I wanted ideas for decorating and I went on YouTube, and holy hell there are some crazy decorators out there. The real secret to structural integrity,” he explained, with the air of someone imparting great wisdom, “The key ingredient, so to speak, is using Rice Crispy treats to keep everything standing.”

“That’s cheating!” 

“No, Iz, that’s genius.” Michael was excited. “Then everything is still edible, but the walls are less likely to collapse inward.”

“Next year we should collaborate on one crazy mansion,” Max suggested. “Enter it in a contest or something.”

“I love this idea.” Isobel had grabbed her phone and was looking at something. “Candy glass windows, I can figure out how to do that.”

“Alex, you’ve created a monster,” Ann laughed. “These three thrive on competition.”

“Yeah, I can see that,” he replied, laughing. 

More eggnog with shots of brandy liqueur were passed around, and everyone one washed sticky hands and went their separate ways, Isobel planning to watch _Love, Actually_ and Max stating that he was going to lay down before the room started spinning. Michael tugged Alex toward the stairs, and they went up to his bedroom with their drinks. 

“I’m actually not surprised Isobel won the contest.” Alex set his drink on ‘his’ nightstand. “It was always going to be about aesthetics.”

Michael laughed. “She _always_ wins. I don’t know why we ever pretend she won’t.” He put his drink down and pulled off his sweater. “Can I interest you in an activity that’s done while horizontal?”

“I can think of a couple horizontal activities,” Alex answered, giggling a little. “I’m not sure what you’re thinking about, but I’m not going to say no to being in bed with you.” He pulled off his sweatshirt and unbuttoned his jeans. “Pants or no pants?”

“I always want to get you out of your pants, you should know this by now.” Michael shed his own jeans and climbed into bed. “I mean, even if our horizontal activity is sleeping you’d want your jeans off.”

Alex got into bed, leaning over to kiss Michael before settling against the pillow. “I learned how to sleep anywhere in anything while I was in Iraq. I also learned how to stay awake through anything in Iraq.”

Michael turned on his side, and traced the lines of Alex’s face with a fingertip. “I wish you’d never had to go to war.”

“Me too. My dad didn’t give me a choice, though. I wanted to go to college and major in music.” He shrugged. “Maybe if I’d gotten a full ride somewhere I could have gone, but I didn’t have the grades or the opportunity for auditions.”

“Did you have to stay in Iraq so much? Or was that a choice?”

“If I’d wanted to do something stateside, I probably could have gotten assigned to a colonel as an admin or something, but my skills were needed in Iraq, so I never requested different assignments. Pretty much everyone _has_ to go overseas,” he explained. “But you don’t have to just stay in war zones unless you’re vital and don’t have a reason to go home. I was both.”

“I hate thinking about you coming so close to dying. I can’t imagine my life without you.” He cupped Alex’s cheek. “I was so lonely, and I was hiding it from everyone because I couldn’t do anything about it. No one clicked for me. I tried really hard to make things work with Maria, we were together for over a year, but when we weren’t actively doing something together, or I wasn’t fixing things for her around the bar, I just didn’t think of her, and if we were just watching TV or something, I had to get up and move and I couldn’t just _be_ with her. She saw that. I loved her, I really did, but I was just playing house, I was being the character of ‘the boyfriend’.”

“I’m different?” 

“I can just exist with you,” Michael tried to explain. “You can be in my orbit and you just belong there, I don’t have to _do_ anything. How much time have we spent watching the same thing on Netflix while Facetiming each other?” He laughed when Alex did. “You just fit, you get me, I don’t feel any pressure to _be_ something specific for you.”

Alex caught his fingers from where Michael was talking with his hands, and kissed them. “I just like you as you are. Just as Michael. And,” he added, “I like that I don’t actually have to talk to you just because we’re in the same room or even on Facetime. We can just be quiet together. As an introvert, that’s huge.”

“You’re the only person that I can just do nothing with without getting antsy. On the flipside though, I’ve talked to you about things that no one else has ever heard, not even Max and Isobel.”

“If you think about it, the Air Force is the only way we could ever have met. If my Humvee hadn’t gone over an IED, and I hadn’t almost lost my leg, we would never have met. I would never have come here on my own. My commanding officer made it clear to my dad that I was a hero and he should be proud to have me home, and that’s why I ended up doing my rehab here and living with him.” Alex sighed. “It was the scariest, most horrible thing that has ever happened to me, but without it, I would never have met you. If everything I’ve lived through up until this point was required to meet you, Michael, then it was worth it.”

Michael felt tears in his eyes. “You really think I’m worth all of that?”

“All of it.” He moved enough to kiss Michael, and was happy when his boyfriend met him halfway. “My childhood was hard. My mom left when I was little because she couldn’t live with my father anymore, and she left us there with him, knowing just how bad it was going to be for us. Even the dehumanizing and humiliating process of joining the Air Force was better than my childhood. Iraq was better than my childhood. I was prepared to continue to have a shitty life with the added bonus of not being able to walk, and miraculously, you walked into Chapter and Verse to buy your sister a book, kissed me like I’d never been kissed before, and changed my life from something I was enduring into something I actually didn’t hate. I started waking up looking forward to whatever might happen, just for the chance to tell you about it.” He leaned forward to kiss Michael again. “I feel like I have a spark now, like I have a reason to, well, not live, that sounds dramatic,” he laughed, “But like I’m allowed to be happy, and to do things to make myself happy, and to actually live, not just exist by default because I didn’t die.”

“I’m glad, baby, I want you to be happy.” 

“Michael,” Alex started, then stopped. He searched those golden brown eyes, like sunlight through a bottle of honey, and saw nothing but love. “Michael, you’re the best Christmas gift I could ever have asked for.” He felt himself choking up, but decided to just spit it out before the words got stuck. “I love you,” he whispered. 

Michael surged forward to kiss Alex, rolled him onto his back to wrap his arms entirely around him, and squeezed him hard. “You’re a Christmas present I never even knew I could ask for, Alex, and I love you so much it’s been trying to explode out of me for days.” He started laughing, relieved, when Alex did. “Is love at first sight real?”

Alex pushed his fingers through Michael’s beautiful hair, tears blurring his vision. “It sure fucking seems that way. I knew when you kissed me that I’d do anything to see you again.”

“I was so excited to see you that first night that I came home and cleaned my room.” He grinned when Alex laughed, and lowered his head to kiss him again. “When you texted me? I felt like I’d won a contest or something. I could not shut up about you to Isobel and Max, and I didn’t know anything _about_ you other than that you were gorgeous, smart, and kissed me.”

“Just so you know,” Alex laughed, “I had never even touched another man in public, other than maybe a handshake or a bro hug, when you leaned over the cash register to wipe glitter off my face and kissed me.”

“To be fair, I had never kissed a man in public before that minute either.” Michael kissed him again. “But it was like a fairytale or something, I just _had_ to kiss you.”

“A fairytale?” Alex wiped tears off his cheeks. “That’s how it felt for me, too.”

Michael kissed him again, thinking it still kind of felt like a fairytale that this beautiful man loved him and wanted to be with him. And Alex was kissing him back like he’d never get enough, hands moving on his back, legs spreading to let him rest between them. “What do you want, baby?”

“You.” He pulled Michael down for another kiss. “Fuck me.”

“You sure?” He kissed down Alex’s neck then pulled away to pull his own shirt off. 

Alex nodded. “I love the way you fuck me.” He waited for Michael to move to sit up and divest himself of his t-shirt and boxers. “It’s like--” he stopped. “That sounds cheesy.”

Laughing, Michael pushed Alex down onto the bed gently. “Like I’m making love to you?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s because I am.” He kissed him again, drawing it out. “Because I love you.”

Alex looked at him with wonder. “I love you too.”

He worked Alex open slowly, listening to him whimper and moan and beg, sucking his cock with three fingers moving in him and Alex’s fingers tight in his hair. It was only when his boyfriend pleaded that he didn’t want to come that way that he relented and slicked his cock. “Taking you apart has been the best part of Christmas,” he murmured, low and filthy, before pushing into Alex’s body.

It was slow and deep and Alex was pretty sure he was the luckiest man in the world. He was looking forward to a time when his leg was flexible enough to get his knees over Michael’s shoulders; for now he wrapped them around his waist as tightly as he could. Michael just seemed to know when to speed up and thrust harder and he desperately pumped his cock as he pounded into him, trying not to scream when Michael got it just right and pushed him over the edge. He felt Michael slowing down and stopped him. “Keep going, I wanna feel you come.”

That was so fucking hot to Michael that he came almost immediately and collapsed onto Alex’s chest. He laid there panting while his boyfriend slowly traced his fingers up and down his spine. “Baby.”

“Yeah,” Alex agreed with a breathless chuckle. “I wanna send a thank you card to everyone else you’ve slept with for giving me the gift of your skills.”

Michael laughed and pulled himself up. “It’s kind of a long list, I was popular in undergrad.”

“I’ll just have to send my thanks to the universe then,” Alex answered laughing. He hummed softly as Michael pulled out and flopped down beside him. It took a little effort, but he rolled onto his side to cuddle up to Michael. And went still in his arms. “You didn’t use a condom.” 

Michael froze. “Oh, oh fuck, baby, I’m sorry, I don’t know how--I was so--”

“Hey, hey, don’t panic.” Alex shifted so that he could see Michael’s face. “It’s okay, don’t panic.”

“I was so high on you loving me back, I didn’t even think about it when you were begging, I--”

Alex stopped the word vomit with a kiss. “I know. I wasn’t thinking either. But it’s okay.”

“No, it’s not, I--”

“Michael,” Alex laughed. “Stop panicking. I’m not upset. We already knew we were clean, I’m not worried about it. I’ve just never had sex without one.” He kissed Michael again. “I like the idea that you’re the first.” He kissed him again. “We both know I won’t get pregnant.”

That made Michael laugh, and he relaxed a little. “Still, Alex, that should have been a conversation. I’m sorry.”

“I’m really not.” He settled against Michael’s chest. “Makes cleaning up a little more complicated.” 

“That is true.”

Alex worked his fingers gently through Michael’s chest hair. “I feel more yours now, if that makes sense.” He laughed a little. “I kinda like the way it feels, even though that’s gross.”

Michael hugged him with all of his strength, getting a squeak for his efforts. “I love you so much, and yes that’s kinda gross but you’re 100% mine so I’m cool with it.”

“100% yours,” Alex laughed. He yawned. “Nap?”

“Let’s get cleaned up, then we can take a nap. You don’t want to wait.”

Alex giggled. “Personal experience?”

“Unfortunately, yes.” When Alex moved away he sat up. “Leg okay?”

He tested his weight. “Yeah, it’s fine. I was just thinking about all the sex we can have when my leg is in better shape.” He narrowed his eyes. “I really want to fuck you into the mattress.”

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want that as soon as possible.” He followed Alex into the bathroom. “I love riding you, but sometimes I want to be fucked hard.” He turned on the shower and tested the water temperature before stepping in.

“Was that a problem when you were with women?” Alex carefully stepped into the shower, cognizant of the slippery tile. “Wanting to be fucked?”

“It was a thing.” He shook his head. “It bothered my first long-term girlfriend. A lot. She didn’t want to indulge in ‘butt stuff’ as she put it, and as time went on she got paranoid that I’d cheat on her with men.” 

“I can’t see you as a cheater.” 

“I’m not. Sex toys are a thing. She couldn’t deal.” He shrugged but his posture softened when Alex wrapped his arms around him. “That was Crystal. Maria never suspected that I’d cheat, and it didn’t bother her that I had a toy drawer. If I could have bonded with Maria it would have been fine. We’re really good friends now, we still enjoy each other’s company.”

“Important question.”

“Shoot.”

“Do you still have a toy drawer?”

“Why yes I do,” he answered, tone full of flirtation. “That something you’d be interested in, Mr. Manes?”

“Mm, maybe.” Alex kissed him. “I can’t describe how much I’ve wanted sex toys and had no way of getting, using, or hiding them.”

“Oh, now that won’t do,” Michael purred. “Can’t have you going without when you need it and I can’t be with you.”

“Just don’t put a dildo under the Christmas tree.” He grinned when Michael laughed. “Seriously, though, it’s a consideration. I have my own house.”

“You could decorate with dildos if you wanted, it’s your house.”

Alex cracked up and had to catch his balance but gripping Michael’s arms. “Yeah, no. But I did see a list of real estate fails that included several pics of houses on the market with dildos clearly visible.”

Michael laughed. “I am not surprised.”

They cleaned themselves up, dried off, changed the sheets, and collapsed into bed. “Don’t forget to set an alarm.”

“Good call.” Michael set an alarm for 5:00 just to be safe, and snuggled into the blankets. When Alex was in his arms, he whispered, “Merry Christmas, baby. I love you.” 

“I love you so much. Merry Christmas, sweetheart.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so the next chapter will be Christmas day, and I don't know if the entire thing will be wrapped up in one chapter, or if it will spill over into another one. We'll see! We're close to the end, though. Happy New Year! It's still 2020 where I am in California posting this!


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it will definitely take two chapters to wrap it up. Here's the first one, the next one will be on it's way as soon as possible!

Alex woke to a barrage of text messages, and blearily looked at his phone to see that he’d been added to a group text with a bunch of unknown numbers and Michael. It felt like it was the crack of dawn, but it was 9:30. _I was up too late. My life has sure gotten exciting in the last couple weeks._ He tapped out a response.

_Alex: Merry Christmas_

_Alex: Um who are you?_

_Michael: Are you still in bed?_

_Alex: Redacted_

_Michael: Get your ass out of bed._

While he knew, theoretically, he should get up, Alex refused to do so for at least a few more minutes. Answers to who he was texting started pouring in, and he added them all to his contacts. Liz, Rosa, Maria, Isobel, Max, and someone named Kyle that he’d never met all cheerfully announced themselves and added to Michael’s sentiment that he should get out of bed.

_Alex: It’s Christmas why can’t I stay in bed?_

_Liz: What if Santa came?_

_Alex: Santa did not come_

_Rosa: Stay in bed dude I’d be there if I lived alone._

_Liz: Oh you would not._

_Max: How do you know Santa didn’t come?_

_Max: Did you check?_

_Alex: Did one of you sneak in my house last night?_

_Michael: No we did not._

_Alex: Good combat vets don’t take well to intruders_

_Max: Harsh!_

_Alex: Sleeping Alex sees everyone as a threat sorry_

_Isobel: You would have woken up if we'd tried to sneak in!_

_Isobel: No one has a key._

Alex smiled a little, but kept his surprise to himself. 

_Alex: Fine I’ll get out of bed_

_Alex: Bah humbug_

_Michael: Next year we’ll get you a tree and Santa will come baby._

His heart clenched. _Next year._

The living room indeed showed that Santa had not visited, but a quick peek out the door showed that someone had dropped off a festively wrapped box. He brought it inside and eyed it cautiously.

_Alex: Santa came but couldn’t get inside_

_Michael: What did he leave you?_

Alex carefully opened the box and found the true gift of Christmas: tamales. 

_Alex: Tamales_

_Alex: It’s a Christmas miracle_

_Liz: There should be brownies and cookies in there too!_

He went back to the box and sure enough, under the tamales were plastic containers of brownies and cookies dusted with cinnamon and sugar. 

_Alex: Thank you so much Liz_

_Alex: And Rosa_

_Maria: I baked the brownies!_

_Alex: And Maria_

_Alex: Is this what it’s like to have friends?_

_Michael: It is indeed baby. Merry Christmas._

He squeezed his eyes shut, trying not to cry, but a few tears leaked out.

_Alex: Thank you all so much_

_Alex: I’ve never had such a wonderful holiday_

_Isobel: It’s not even over, there are presents for you here._

_Isobel: And don’t forget about dinner. This turkey is HUGE._

_Alex: Stuffing is my favorite part to be honest_

_Max: You’ll have to fight Michael for it._

_Michael: #truefacts_

_Alex: I’m trained in hand to hand combat and can use my cane as a weapon_

_Alex: Sorry sweetheart that stuffing is mine_

_Liz: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA_

_Michael: Now just you wait a damned minute Manes._

_Isobel: There’s plenty of stuffing!_

_Isobel: It’s in the bird, in a pan in the oven, and in the crock pot!_

_Isobel: No carb-related violence!_

_Michael: We’ll have to stick to normal violence._

_Isobel: No violence of any kind! It’s Christmas!_

_Alex: I agree no violence_

_Alex: Unless it’s stuffing related_

He put the tamales in the fridge and opened the cookies to eat one. They were amazing, they tasted like a sugar cookie and a churro had a baby. 

_Alex: These cookies are great_

_Liz: They’re my special churro cookies._

_Alex: I love them_

_Liz: I’m glad!_

_Michael: Save me some baby._

Alex looked in the container, there were at least a dozen. 

_Alex: You can have one because I love you_

_Alex: I wouldn’t share these with anyone else_

_Alex: The Pope could show up and I wouldn’t offer him one_

_Alex: Jesus wouldn’t get one_

_Michael: I’m glad my love buys cookies_

_Isobel: WHEN DID YOU SAY THE WORDS?!_

“Oh shit, that was just last night, wasn’t it.”

_Michael: Last night, best Christmas present ever._

_Alex: My absolute favorite Christmas present of all time_

_Alex: Followed closely by these cookies_

_Alex: Okay Jesus could have one but not the Pope_

_Liz: I can make more omg 😂_

Alex flipped over to his private thread with Michael.

_Alex: Merry Christmas sweetheart_

_Alex: I love you so much_

_Michael: I love you too baby. Merry Christmas._

_Michael: What time do you want to go see your mom?_

“That’s the million dollar question, isn’t it?”

_Alex; Why don’t you head over now_

_Alex: I’ll take a shower and get ready_

_Michael: Be there in a minute._

Reluctantly deciding not to eat another cookie, Alex headed for the shower. He wasn’t sure how to dress for the day, and opted for jeans and a dark green sweater. By the time Michael arrived, he was dressed, shaved, and styled, and let him in the front door happily. 

“You look gorgeous, baby. Ready to go?”

“I did promise you a cookie, do you want it?”

“Let’s save it for later.”

The drive to Shadow Hills, the assisted living facility his mother was in, was about an hour. The weather was cold and grey, and Alex was both excited to see his mother after so many years, and dreaded the experience. _I only have to stay an hour, that’s all the time visitors can stay._

“Hey, you okay?” Michael put his hand on Alex’s thigh and squeezed. “I’m right here, baby.”

Alex covered his hand. “I’m okay.” He sighed. “It’s just hard to see her. I understand why she wanted to get away from my dad, I really do, but she just _left_ us with him. Like she didn’t even _love_ us.” He shook his head. “She’s mentally ill, and the abuse was more than she could really live with, and she decided there was no way to take care of us on her own. It’s not fair, though.”

“No, it’s not fair.” He laced their fingers together. “Did she have, like, a psychotic break?”

“No, not that extreme, but still horrible. I found out later from my brother Greg, who spent time on the rez, that she was pregnant, and Dad beat her until she miscarried. He apparently didn’t want any more kids and decided violence was the answer.”

“Holy fuck.” Michael was floored. “Okay, I had an idea that he was abusive but not to that extent. I’m sorry, baby.”

“I got the worst of it, really, even before I realized I was gay. He said he could tell I was perverted from a young age and had tried to put a stop to it early on and failed. In high school I stopped changing for PE because I was so covered in bruises and welts.”

At that point Michael had to pull off the highway and park. He took off his seatbelt and opened his arms, happy when Alex dove into them. “Baby, baby, I’m so sorry.” _No wonder he was scared for his dad to see me at his house._ “You couldn’t tell anyone?”

He shook his head. “No point, my dad’s an officer. He would have been cleared, none of my brothers would ever have admitted that he hit them, and the retribution would have been unbearable. Clay and Flint still pretend that they turned out fine and that Dad made men out of them.”

“Fuck.” Michael just held his boyfriend close for a few minutes. “You moved back in with him to do your rehab, that must have been so hard.”

Alex nodded against Michael’s shoulder. “It was. I learned from home visits that he wouldn’t hit me anymore once I was an airman since I could have reported him to my commanding officer. And now I rank him, he’s a master sergeant and I’m a captain. He still tells me I’m a disgrace to my uniform regularly, but I can deal with that.”

“Being gay makes you a disgrace to your uniform?” Michael felt Alex nod. “That’s bullshit.”

“I know.” He pulled away a little. “I think he expected me to go straight once I was enlisted, but I stubbornly remained gay.”

“Jeez, Alex, if you’d just tried hard enough you would have started liking girls.”

Alex cracked up at Michael’s over-the-top sarcasm. “I really did try when I was in middle school and high school, but all the wishing in the world didn’t make me not gay. And I’m fine with that now, I’ve accepted myself, but my dad would rather I died in Iraq than came home and continued to be gay.” 

“What a miserable excuse for a human being. I’m sorry baby.”

He shrugged. “It is what it is. I don’t have to deal with him for a while.”

Michael cupped his cheek and pulled him in for a kiss. “Yeah.”

“Thank you for being you, sweetheart.” Alex kissed him again. “I love you.”

“I love you too, baby.”

They continued their trip to Shadow Hills in contented quiet until Michael goaded Alex into singing Christmas songs along with the radio. “Your voice is amazing. Why are you doing computer science instead of becoming a musician?”

“I already have the foundations from my job in the Air Force, so it’s just logical. There’s no reason I can’t write music _and_ do computer science stuff.”

“This is true. What do you want to do with computer science?”

“I kinda want to be a contractor for the military. They can’t do everything on their own, they have contractors for intelligence, especially building programs and systems. The Department of Defense does their own monitoring, but need people who are more heavily trained in computer science to design the software they need. I just spent 10 years essentially being a hacker for the Air Force, and I really want to continue along those lines.”

“Okay, that’s pretty cool, hacking for the government is cool.”

“Being a singer and songwriter was my dream in high school, though. If that became an option, I’d take it. Even just the chance to play in bars around here would be great.”

“Hell yeah it would.”

The parking lot at Shadow Hills Assisted Living was about half full, and Alex was sure it was mostly staff. “This facility is really more for dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, but also treats other forms of memory and psychological problems. My brothers and I, together with family from the rez, pay for her to be here.” He took a deep breath and let it out. “My grandparents are all dead, my father is what he is, and my mother is in a mental institution. I haven’t seen any of my brothers in years, I haven’t seen any of my family from the reservation since I was in middle school.”

“I know it’s not the same, but you’ve got me, and Iz and Max, and the entire motley crew of friends who love you.”

Alex took Michael’s hand and kissed his fingers. “It really helps.” He waited while they got out of the truck. “Who’s Kyle?”

Michael laughed. “Hoo boy, there’s a complicated situation. He’s Liz’s ex from high school. He’s a doctor now, and was one of the surgeons on Max’s heart surgery, and told Max up front that he was invested in him healing because they both love Liz and want her to be happy.”

“How is that complicated?”

“It’s sort of become a threesome situation, Kyle was really involved in Max’s rehab and they really bonded, like, a lot. Between a couple convos with Max about Kyle and one I had with Iz a couple weeks ago, it looks like we’re three for three on bisexual mystery triplets.”

“Okay, yeah, that’s pretty complicated.” Alex opened the door and held it for Michael. “After you, sweetheart.”

“So chivalrous.”

At the desk Alex asked about seeing his mother, and they contacted her nurse. “She’ll be ready to see you in about 10 minutes if you just want to have a seat.”

“Thank you.”

Walking through the halls of Shadow Hills was surreal. Alex wasn’t sure what he’d thought a psychiatric facility would be like, but it was overall just very calming. Obviously designed to keep people relaxed. Very quiet. He and his family were obviously paying _a lot_ to keep their mother comfortable.

The nurse knocked on the door and announced them. “Mindy? Your son Alex is here.”

Alex was happy to see that her room was neat and comfortable, with a small sitting area, not just a bed, and a desk with a computer on it. She was dressed in a lavender sweatsuit, not scrubs or pajamas, and her silver-shot black hair was cut short around her shoulders in a trendy style. Most importantly, though, she smiled when she saw him and stood up. 

It felt so weird to hug her, she’d gotten so tiny somewhere along the line, but was still strong. “My baby boy, it’s so good to see you.”

“Hi Mom.” He had to stop, choked up. “Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas. Who’s your friend?”

Alex turned a little and held out his hand for Michael to come forward. “This is my boyfriend, Michael.”

She immediately opened her arms to hug him. “Very nice to meet you, Michael.”

They sat in the chairs opposite her tiny couch. “I should have brought you a present,” Alex fretted. “But I didn’t know--”

“You didn’t know what to expect,” Mindy finished. “No, I understand. I wouldn’t have known what to get you, either.” She smiled sadly. “I’m just happy to see you. Tell me what’s happening in your life! How are you in New Mexico?”

Alex told her about his service in Iraq, his injury, the medical discharge and ending up living with Jesse briefly. Her mouth had tightened and she’d looked indescribably dismayed that when Alex told her that he’d have to move back in with his father. She was happy to hear about his own little house though, and how he’d come to find it.

“I work at a bookstore part time right now, and Michael came in to buy his sister a poetry book. It was love at first sight and my life has changed dramatically for the better every day since we met.”

“Love at first sight? Really?”

Michael laughed. “Really. I kissed him at the cash register after I’d known him all of 20 minutes.”

“That’s cute,” she laughed. “I can’t pretend to give good relationship advice, but I don’t know if a fairytale romance needs it.”

The hour was over too soon, but that was all Mindy was allowed at her current level of support. “Mom, are you allowed to have a cell phone?”

She nodded. “Yes, but I don’t have one.”

“I’ll take care of that,” Alex promised. “Then you can talk to people if you’re feeling up to it.”

“I do email with your aunts and uncles sometimes, but it would be nice to hear someone’s voice occasionally. I have to get permission to make phone calls, and it’s hard to coordinate by email, but if I could text someone that I want to call at 7:00, that would be wonderful.”

“Do you-- Do you want me to see if I can change it so you can come visit me?” He swallowed around a lump in his throat. “I have a spare bedroom.”

Mindy shook her head. “Not just yet, love. I’m finally starting to have something resembling a balanced mood, the combination of meds, therapy, and consistency has helped me heal in ways that I couldn’t before. But I’m not ready for field trips yet. Maybe in a few months.”

Alex nodded, appreciating her honesty. That, more than anything, told him that she really was trying to get better. “Okay. I’ll get a phone on my account and bring it to you soon.”

“If you talk to your brothers at all, tell them I love them.” She hugged Alex tight. “I really do, I love all of you. I couldn’t get past my own trauma to show you, and I will never forgive myself for leaving you all behind. But I do love you, and I dedicate every day to you and your brothers.”

He blinked hard a few times to clear the tears from his vision, but in the end a few spilled down his cheeks anyway. “Thank you, Mom. I love you too.”

Michael just held him close in the parking lot for a few minutes. “You okay, baby?”

“Yeah.” He pulled back and pressed a tiny kiss to Michael’s lips. “More okay than I thought I’d be.”

“That was seriously best case scenario, right?”

“Oh, absolutely. I had no idea she’d made so much progress.” They got in the truck. “For a lot of years, she self-medicated and was pretty destructive. It’s so great to see that she’s actually recovering. I’m so happy,” he choked out, more tears falling. “She’s so young, Michael, she was only 16 when she had Clay, and she has so much life left, and it looks like she’ll get to actually live it.”

“You saved her, you and your brothers.” Michael squeezed Alex’s knee. 

“My aunts and uncles had something to do with it, too, but yeah, if my Aunt Ginny hadn’t contacted me because she still had my old email address, we wouldn’t have known. They didn’t have the money to have an intervention, and struggle with their own demons at the best of times, but my brothers and I all make enough to support her care. It’ll be harder now that I’m out,” he added, “But I have a savings fund just for her care that should take care of things for at least another year.”

“You’re a good son, Alex. Every time we talk I find more reasons to love you.”

“Thank you for going with me, Michael. I needed the support.”

“I’ll always be here for you, baby.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought this was a good stopping point rather than trying to cram everything into one chapter. We should be finished after the next chapter though!


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, the final chapter!

“Hey, text Isobel and see what time she thinks dinner will be.”

“Okay.” Alex pulled his phone out of his pocket. They were almost back to his house, and it was a little after 1:00.

_Alex: Hey Isobel what time will dinner be?_

_Alex: Michael’s driving_

He waited for her to reply.

_Isobel: This turkey is unnaturally large. Probably 4:30._

“She says 4:30.”

Michael gaped at him. “Okay, that turkey was big, but I didn’t realize it was _that_ big. Wanna hang out at your place until closer to dinner time?” He rolled his eyes. “Ann’s sisters really don’t care for me. I think the terms ‘freeloader’ and ‘gold digger’ have both been used.”

“How are you a gold digger? Do they think you’re going to marry your sister?”

“Well, one of them doesn’t think I’m really their brother, that I made it up to get to move in there for free. One thinks I’m a manipulative sack of shit for playing on Ann’s guilt.” He shrugged. “In all of my time living in absolute hell, I never once asked Max or Isobel to tell their parents how bad my life was to guilt them into adopting me. I made them promise _not_ to tell them so they _wouldn’t_ feel guilty. I fought with Max and Iz for days over them asking Ann and Rick if I could come live with them. I hate charity.” Michael sighed. “But I needed a place to live and Isobel begged me to take Ann up on the offer. As soon as I moved in I asked for ways to earn my keep, and Rick sarcastically said something like, ‘If you can get my chainsaw to start you’ll be paying for yourself right there.’ I took apart the chainsaw and put it back together working.”

“Brilliant mechanical engineering genius.”

“We also learned that horses just trust me, so I can do anything with the horses, even if they’re spooked by something. I’d spent enough time at the house that Ann and Rick knew me fairly well at that point, and knew I was a good kid for the most part.”

“You said you were separated from Max and Isobel, when did you come back?”

“The family I was with decided they’d had enough of me and said they wanted me gone by the beginning of the next school year, so the state found someone that would take me for the beginning of 6th grade, and that was back here. As soon as we saw each other it was like we were all magnets that were just stuck to each other, we were all crying and the lunchroom monitors were all concerned that we were fighting and we all had to go to the office. I guess after school that day Max and Iz were dancing and yelling and telling Ann how I was back and she was like, ‘who?’ and they dropped the bombshell that I was their brother.” 

“I don’t know if there’s a better definition of ‘awkward’ than that.”

“Yeah, awkward is a good word for it. I tried really hard not to resent Max and Iz for their sweet life. I was relieved that they’d had an easier time of it than I had.” 

Alex squeezed Michael’s knee. “You’re a good person, Michael. No one would have blamed you for resenting them.”

“It was hard not to. And I harbored some dark anger toward Ann and Rick for choosing them but not me, and at the employees at the group home who separated us, and then intentionally didn’t tell the Evanses that there was a third child. They only wanted a girl. They took Max because he was too hysterical to be separated from Iz and that tugged at their heartstrings. If they’d known about me, too, none of us would have been adopted.”

“What a horrible situation.”

Michael pulled into Alex’s driveway next to his beat up green Jeep. “Our cars are kinda like us. A little worse for the wear, not high society, but colorful, with lots of character and good bones.”

Alex laughed softly and slid across the seat to kiss Michael’s cheek. “When I pulled up in front of the Evans Estate that first night, I was sure I wanted to date whoever drove this truck more than any of those shiny new cars in the driveway.”

“Ann may look as posh as it gets in that blue Bently, but if there’s any kind of weather, she’s gotta keep it in the garage, it’s too expensive. This truck?” He patted the dashboard lovingly. “Bring in on.”

“I bought my Jeep from a friend’s wife when I got back to the states. We were roommates in the hospital in Germany, and he was complaining that his wife wanted to trade it in, but he was sure they wouldn’t get what it was actually worth. I told him that if I could ever drive again, I’d buy it. I had my physical therapist take a video of my first steps and just sent it to him with the Blue Book value of the Jeep.”

“The only downside of Jeeps is they take crazy maintenance.”

“It’s a good thing I’m in love with a guy who can fix literally anything.”

“My part-time job all through high school and undergrad was at an auto salvage yard doing mechanic work. If anyone can keep your Jeep running, it’s me.”

Inside, Alex lamented that he hadn’t managed to get any firewood for cozy Christmas blanket sex, which pulled peels of laughter out of Michael. Alex dearly loved making Michael laugh. He didn’t think of himself as a funny person, but he was determined to stretch his limited humor resources to keep his boyfriend giggling. 

“Despite the lack of a fire, I feel like Christmas sex could still work.” Michael smiled that slow, sexy smile that made Alex’s pupils dilate. “The bed is pretty cozy, there are plenty of blankets.”

Alex laughed and let Michael pull him in for a kiss. “You’re right, the bed is cozy, and there are blankets. It’s also Christmas.”

“See? Now there just needs to be sex.” Michael kissed him again and wrapped his arms around Alex’s waist. “Hm?”

“You make a very convincing argument,” he answered, already unbuttoning Michael’s shirt. “Maybe we should go in the bedroom and make sure the bed is cozy enough.”

Michael steered Alex through the open door to the master bedroom. “Looks pretty damned cozy.” He slid his hands under Alex’s sweater, and helped him take it off entirely. “We better hurry and get in the blankets to make sure.”

Laughing, Alex dropped down on the side of the bed. “I have to sit to take these boots off, sorry.” He quickly unlaced them and pulled them off. “There, you can finish ripping all my clothes off.”

“Thank god,” he answered dramatically, tugging a laughing Alex to his feet to undo his jeans. “Every time I unzip your jeans, that’s my _real_ Christmas present.”

“You only love me for my dick.” Alex made quick work of Michael’s belt. 

“Your ass gets me pretty emotional too.” Michael took his hands away from Alex’s tempting skin to pull off his boots, jeans, and underwear. “You’re lookin’ a little overdressed, darlin’.”

“Me? Overdressed?” He kicked his jeans and boxers off and settled back on the bed. “Well I guess I’m the only one wearing jewelry.”

Michael gently pushed him down and crawled over him. “I do love the jewelry.” He lowered his head and kissed Alex _thoroughly._ “What do you want, baby?”

Alex laughed breathlessly. “To be on the bed going the right direction, for starters. I love you but don’t want to have sex with our legs hanging off the side.” 

“Jeez, killin’ the mood here, Manes.” He moved so that Alex could settle comfortably in the center of the bed, dark hair spread across the soft grey pillowcase.

“Okay, do you want to carry me when my leg is killing me later?” Alex teased, welcoming Michael’s weight settling on him. “I seem to remember that being a good time.”

He laughed. “Okay, that wasn’t our most elegant or graceful moment as a couple.” Michael kissed him, and kept kissing him, only letting him up for air when he was satisfied. “You didn’t answer my question, baby.”

“Hm? Question?” Alex grinned when Michael laughed at his comically dreamy tone. “Actually, I was thinking I’d like to fuck you. I think my leg is up to it.”

Michael groaned and attacked Alex’s lips. “Yes, fuck yes. But if it hurts, we stop.”

“It’s a deal.” He pushed on Michael’s shoulders, and he obligingly helped roll them over to trade spots. “I’ll have to go pretty slowly, at least at first.”

“Mm, that’s the opposite of a problem.” He pulled Alex down for another kiss. “If we finish with me riding you, that’s fine too.”

“That might happen.”

“Perfectly fine.” 

Alex took his time prepping Michael, as he always did, listening to him make small noises of pleasure until he was moaning and then, finally, begging. Michael was a passionate man, and when he was ready, he was _ready._ And Alex loved it.

“Baby, baby please,” Michael panted out.

“Shh, give me a minute, sweetheart.” He carefully moved between Michael’s legs, testing his strength and balance. “I’ve really wanted to look at you like this, let me take it all in.” That pulled a breathless laugh out of his boyfriend while he slicked his cock. “You’re so fucking gorgeous.”

“Alex,” he whispered, then fell silent when he felt Alex’s cock against his entrance. “Baby.”

“I love you,” Alex whispered as he pushed in. “I love you.” It felt incredible, and the soft sounds that Michael was making were like music. “Tell me when I can move, sweetheart.”

“You’re good.” He let his head drop against the pillows as Alex started rocking. “Fuck.”

“Yeah.” Alex moved carefully, not wanting to hurt Michael _or_ himself by being too enthusiastic. “God you feel good.”

“Can you- can you--”

Alex laughed breathlessly. “Yeah I can go harder.”

“Your leg’s good?”

“It’s good.” He sped up and put more force behind his thrusts, and pulled Michael’s legs around his waist. 

“Fuck, yes,” Michael gasped out.

Little by little, Alex pushed them harder, testing the new limits of his body and driving Michael crazy in the process. “I’m close.”

“Fuck, me too.” 

Alex took that as an invitation to pound into him while Michael pumped his own cock and made an obscene amount of noise. He felt Michael come before he heard him shout, and followed him over the edge almost immediately, elated. When he collapsed onto Michael’s chest a moment later, he laughed softly.

It was a while before either of them could do anything besides make vaguely satisfied noises. Michael broke the near silence with, “Baby, I needed that, fuck.” 

Chuckling, Alex kissed whatever part of Michael that was under his face, then pulled himself up. “Merry Christmas.”

“Damn, yeah, merry Christmas,” Michael laughed and pulled Alex down for a kiss. “How’s your leg, though?”

He carefully moved around and tested his leg before settling next to Michael. “I kinda overdid it, I need to stay off of it for a little while. Shower then nap?”

“Do you need to ice it?” Michael sat up, concerned. “How much damage did you do?”

Alex laughed. “You know when you haven’t done an exercise in a while, and you do it, and then you’re like, ‘why did I do that,’ but you’re fine, your muscles are just tired? That’s where I am. My leg is tired and it’s going to be sore. But compared to moving day, this was not traumatic.”

“Okay, if you’re sure.”

“I’m sure, sweetheart. I’ll sit on the bench in the shower.”

“I don’t think we should try a naked piggyback ride.”

“No,” Alex laughed. “No, we should not.” He met Michael in a kiss. “If it’s sore when we get up, I’ll take my cane tonight out to the Estate.”

“Sounds good.” 

Alex’s shower was nothing compared to the palatial waterfall that Michael had in his bathroom, but they’d changed out the showerhead for one that had a hand-held attachment, and the water pressure was good for such an old house. Alex was careful stepping into the tub after Michael turned on the water, and he settled on the teak stool as Michael pulled the curtain closed. He tugged Michael close as the water poured over them, wrapped his arms around his hips, and pressed his cheek against his stomach. “All of the things in my life that I like, I like even more doing them with you. I love taking a hot shower, it’s even better with you. Even if you’re blocking the water right now.”

Michael laughed, and bent to kiss the top of Alex’s head. “All the things I like, I like even more when I’m with you. And the things I don’t like as much are better if you’re there.”

“That too, bad things are less bad with you.” He released Michael. “This would be a really convenient height for a blow job.”

“I love how your brain works.”

“Maybe not now,” Alex continued, “I’m pretty tired and I need NSAIDs, but for the future.”

“You should probably eat something too. Did you have breakfast?”

“Um, I had a cookie. Does that count?”

“No.”

Out of the shower, Michael insisted that Alex go straight to bed, and we went out the kitchen in some of Alex’s sweats to look for food. He put two tamales in the microwave and took them to the bedroom. “Lunch in bed. Hope you don’t mind that I’m joining you.”

Alex took his plate. “Not at all. I love tamales.”

“Arturo’s tamales are out of this motherfucking world.” 

By the time Michael got water and ibuprofen into Alex, he was falling asleep. “I don’t know why I’m so tired,” he complained.

“It was an emotional day. Even good emotions wear you out.”

“Set an alarm so we don’t miss dinner.”

“I’m going to assume that yawn had something to do with setting an alarm.”

“A+ interpretation.”

Michael snuggled into the blankets and hummed happily when Alex was wrapped around him. “I love you, baby.”

“Love you too.”

When the alarm went off at 3:45, Michael was already awake, but Alex was sound asleep. He’d put on sweatpants to keep his leg warm, and taken Advil, so Michael hoped he’d be okay. “Wake up, sleepyhead.”

“No.” Alex laughed when he felt Michael’s laughter. “Okay, in a minute.”

“Hey, you’re the one delaying dinner, presents, and pie by sleeping, not me.”

Alex forced himself to pull away from Michael’s warm body, and looked at him across the pillows. “Can I give you your present now?”

“You don’t want to wait?”

“No, I really want it to be private. Just us.”

“Okay, baby.”

“Wait here.” Alex threw back the blankets and swung his legs over the side of the bed. “Fuck.”

“Oh fuck, are you okay?” Michael hurried to Alex’s side. “Baby?”

Stretching his leg out hurt. “It hurts, but not, like, injured hurt, just like, not used to it, hurt.”

“Do you want me to get your cane?”

Alex shook his head. “Nah, not for just in the house. I’ll be right back.” 

Michael waited anxiously while Alex limped out of the room. He was only gone for a moment before he came back with a small box. Climbing on the bed, Alex handed it to him. “Merry Christmas, sweetheart.”

He recognized the paper as the gift wrap from Chapter and Verse; the shiny dark blue background with dark brown pine cones frosted with white glitter snow. This time, instead of a red ribbon, like on Isobel’s books, there was fancy red string wrapped around it. “Did you buy me something from the bookstore?”

“No, I just wrapped it at work so I didn’t have to buy gift wrap for one present.”

Michael laughed. “That makes perfect sense.” He carefully removed the strings and paper, and opened the little black box. Inside there was a round silver tag with something engraved on it. He picked up, and could see that it was a keychain with a pair of brass keys dangling from it. “What?” He looked at the silver medallion on the keychain. It was engraved with his own name on one side, and ‘All my love, Alex’ and a date on the back. “Baby?”

“You’ve told me so many things about your life, all of these stories about foster care and living in your truck and hating the charity that the Evanses offered, and I just thought, well, you don’t have a home of your own. You never have.” Alex held Michael’s eyes. “I know we’re not ready to move in together yet, but when that time comes, I want you to know this is your home. Yours and mine. You have keys, you can come over any time, and leave any time, and you’re welcome here any time of the day or night, because this is your home.”

Tears pouring down his face, Michael threw his arms around Alex and held him as tightly as he could. “Baby,” he choked out. 

Alex held him, rocking him a little. “I love you so much Michael.”

It was a few minutes before Michael could pull away. “Thank you,” he whispered. “Thank you so much, Alex. I love you so fucking much.”

Laughing, Alex framed his face with his hands and kissed him. “I’m glad you like it.”

“Best gift ever,” he laughed, but it was half tears. “My present doesn’t even come close to this.”

Alex was thoughtful. “Do you know anything about Japanese literature? The culture or traditions or anything?”

Michael shook his head. “Not really.”

“Well,” Alex explained, “One of the things that’s been popularized in Japanese media is the concept of the red string of fate.” He toyed with the decorative strings that had been on Michael’s package. “It’s an invisible string tied between soulmates that’s always tugging them together. It’s tied from one left ring finger to the other.” 

“Cosmic.”

“Yeah.” Alex brushed the tears off of Michael’s cheeks. “The string tying us together pulled so many things to me that I’ve never had before, like friends and family that care about me, and a house of my own. Everything good in my life came to me because of you. That’s the gift you gave me, Michael. You turned my existence into a life.” He pressed a kiss to Michael’s lips. “I love you more than anything in the world.”

“I love you more than I can put into words. And we both know I’m not speechless often.” 

“No, no you’re not.” Alex hugged him, holding him tight, then kissed his cheek. “Welcome home, sweetheart, whenever you want.”

Michael looked at the keychain. “Is this...is this the day we met?”

Alex nodded. “Yeah. I feel like that was the actual first day of my life.”

“You’re adorable but you listen to too much Bright Eyes.”

“That was the song that was playing at Chapter and Verse when you kissed me.”

“No, really?” Michael gaped at him. “How did I not notice?”

“I guess I’m just too hot for you to notice background noise.”

“That is, actually, probably the truth.” He kissed Alex soundly. “We should put on public-appropriate clothes and head out to the Estate for dinner.”

“We probably should.”

“Will you take your cane if I make sad puppy eyes?”

“Yes,” Alex laughed. “Let me see the sad puppy eyes --no, stop, those are too effective, oh god, you look so pitiful.”

“I will win every argument!” Michael’s gloating was cut short. “Oh, oh fuck, baby, no, you win, you have better sad puppy eyes.”

“Sometimes we have the dumbest conversations.”

“Damn, you can out-puppy-eyes me.”

“It’s because they’re dark brown. More effective.”

They dressed quickly, and Alex got his cane before they headed out the door. Without discussion, they got in Michael’s truck and headed to the outskirts of town. Alex looked out the window, and thought the clouds had gotten even lower. “I wonder if it’s supposed to snow.”

“On Christmas? That would be amazing but it’s unlikely.”

“I know, it’s the hopeless romantic in me, dreaming of a white Christmas.”

The turkey was coming out of the oven when Michael and Alex walked in, and Isobel put them to work on mashing potatoes and stirring gravy as soon as their coats were off. The kitchen was huge, so it wasn’t a hardship for everyone to help, and Alex felt more like he was part of the family than he had before. _I’ve gained a huge family since I met Michael, and now I might even have my mom back. No Christmas can ever top this one, as long as I live._

Dinner was exquisite. Isobel hadn’t been exaggerating, there really was a huge amount of stuffing, Michael went so far as to state ‘metric fuck ton’ as the unit of measurement. They ate in the formal dining room for the first time in Alex’s experience, and the Christmas decorations were so nice that he was sad they hadn’t used the room for every meal. Figuring he’d probably be taking pain meds later, Alex didn’t have wine with dinner, and confessed that he’d never considered wine as a possible complement to Christmas dinner.

“Only some wines go with turkey.” Isobel held up her glass. “This is specifically blended for with Christmas dinner.”

“All wine tastes like Robitussin to me.” Michael raised his beer in a toast. “To low-class palates.”

Alex laughed and tapped his glass of sparkling cider against Michael’s bottle. “To being a heathen.”

After dinner Alex wanted to see everyone’s presents, and Max and Isobel each had one for him. “But I didn’t get anything for you,” he protested.

“You got Michael to smile,” Isobel argued.

“You got Michael to shut up about robots,” Max contributed.

Isobel’s gift was a soft sweater in deep midnight blue. “It’s so soft.” Alex rubbed the soft fabric against his cheek. “Thank you so much. Do I have to dry clean it?”

She shook her head. “No, you can wash it in cold water on delicate, but you can’t put it in the dryer, you put a towel on your dining room table and lay the sweater flat on it.”

“Oh, okay.” Alex was mystified as to why that was how it was dried, but took her word for it.

Max got him a beautiful leather-bound journal and a nice pen. “Sometimes it helps to write down how you feel about what you’ve lost,” he explained softly. “It feels better to put it on paper than type it up or yell it to whoever’s listening.” 

Alex hugged him and thanked him sincerely. “No one has ever gotten me a journal before, I love it.”

Michael smiled at Alex. “I already told you, my gift is nothing compared to yours.”

“And I already told you, you’ve given me more gifts that I can even count at this point.”

“Well, since Christmas is about tangible presents that you can put a bow on, I got you this.” He handed Alex the largish object. “It’s breakable.”

“Oh, okay.” Alex carefully removed the paper, which was a Fair Isle sweater pattern but with Star Wars characters and spacecraft. “What is this?”

“The day we met, you wrote your number on one of those poetry note cards you have by the register. It was a Walt Whitman quote, ‘We were together. I forget the rest’. I’ve kept it all this time, and I got it framed to put on my desk at work. I thought maybe you’d like it bigger, since, it’s, like, a thing, now.”

Alex looked at the picture frame he was holding, and sure enough, it was a beautifully-lettered quote, with flourishes and geometric patterns accenting the corners. “Did you have Natalie make this for you?”

Michael nodded. “Yeah. Turn it over.”

He flipped it around. One the back, Michael had taped a little envelope, and Alex lifted the flap and pulled out a little note.

_Alex,  
Merry Christmas, baby. I hope this is just the first of a long line of Christmases. I love you and I know I will love you for the rest of my life. No matter what else happens, I will always love you. When I think about the past, now I just want to remember that we were together. Nothing else even matters.  
Yours very truly,  
Michael_

“Michael,” Alex whispered, throat closed with tears. “I love you.” He carefully tucked the note back into the envelope and set his beautiful artwork aside. “Come here.”

They held each other for a few minutes, Alex unbelievably touched and trying desperately to control his tears, Michael relieved that his gift hadn’t sucked. “I didn’t know if you’d like it, I mean, you didn’t even really look at the post card.”

Alex chuckled wetly. “No, I didn’t even look at it, just scribbled my number on it and hoped you’d call me.” He gave Michael a little kiss. “I love it. You’ll have to help me figure out where to put it in the house.”

“Absolutely.”

They were contemplating a short soak in the hot tub when Isobel happened to look out the window and squeaked. “It’s snowing!” 

“What, really?” Max got up from the couch and went to join Isobel by the piano. “It’s really snowing. Big, fluffy flakes.”

Alex grabbed Michael’s hand and pulled him to his feet. “We have to go outside, like, right now. Get your coat.”

Everyone bundled up and ran out into the flurries. “Snow, on Christmas? How often does this even happen?” 

Michael laughed and tossed a tiny snowball at his sister. “Not often enough.”

“If it happened all the time it wouldn’t be special,” Alex argued. He intercepted Michael scooping up more snow to throw at Max. “Just enjoy the moment and stop tormenting your siblings.”

“Fine, gah.” He ruffled Alex’s hair, disturbing the snow that had settled in the dark strands. “You got your white Christmas, baby.”

“I got you,” Alex corrected. “You’re my real gift. Everything else is just icing on the cake.” He wrapped his arms around Michael’s neck and pulled him in for a kiss. “I love you so much, Michael Guerin. Merry Christmas.”

“You are the love of my life, Alex Manes. Merry Christmas.”

They shared a soft kiss as the snow fell around them, the air hushed and quiet. Like they were the only two people in the entire world.

Until everyone else threw tiny snowballs at them.

Before it could become all-out war, Alex bowed out, knowing his leg wasn’t up to a snowball fight, and that took a lot of the fire out of the triplets. Ann declared that it was high time they had pie, and they went back in to dry off and share treats.

Michael watched Alex for signs of fatigue, and called for the night to end a little bit early with the promise of coming back over the following day for movies and leftovers. That wasn’t enough for Ann and Isobel, though, who promptly swung into action to pack up enough leftovers for Alex to eat for a week at his house. He was so grateful for all of the love and caring and kindness that he’d hugged both women tightly and thanked them. 

In the truck, Alex buckled himself into the middle seat belt of the bench seat so that he could put his head on Michael’s shoulder while he drove. His leg was approaching an 8/10 on the pain scale, he was tired, and he could feel himself getting bitchy. “Thanks for calling it a night early, sweetheart. I’m worn out.”

“Your leg really hurts, doesn’t it?”

He nodded against Michael’s shoulder. “I’ll have to fuck you a few more times to build up stamina before it doesn’t hurt so much.” He giggled when Michael laughed. “Think you can sacrifice yourself for that?”

“Gah, if I have to. Jeez, making me have fantastic sex, you’re such an asshole.” He turned his head to kiss Alex’s hair. “Maybe take it a little more gently the next time?”

“This is going to be really unromantic, but if I stretch first, that will probably help.”

“So no more spontaneously pounding my ass.” He laughed when Alex did. “Massage afterward?”

“That would probably help too.” Alex sighed. “When I first saw my leg after surgery, I didn’t think there was any way that anyone could ever want me again. I was so fucking grateful that I didn’t lose it, but still so horrified by the way it looked. It’s still not exactly sexy.”

“Baby, every inch of you is sexy. And just so you know, you would be just as sexy if you _had_ lost it. You’re the whole package, Alex. You’re always going to be sexy to me.”

“Thank you, sweetheart.” He kissed Michael’s cheek. “There are seven plates in my leg. I don’t remember how many pins. The scarring from the burns and tissue that wasn’t salvageable is pretty gruesome. I never thought I’d be able to date, or wear swim trunks, or sit in a hot tub, or anything.”

“Well now you know that you can do all of those things, and you can challenge yourself to wear shorts and go swimming this summer.”

“I wonder if I can wear flip flops,” Alex mused aloud. “I lost some of the sensation in my toes, I’ll have to test it out.”

“You have really nice feet.”

“Really?”

“And really pretty hands. You look gorgeous when you play guitar.”

“You’re sweet. You know I used to paint my nails black?”

“Fingers or toes?”

“Both. I was tempted to buy nail polish at the drugstore the other day, but I’m not sure if I’m still that punk.”

Michael turned into the driveway at Alex’s little house and killed the engine. “Look at all the snow, baby.”

“It’s so pretty! I hope it lasts long enough tomorrow that I can take a picture.”

At the front door, Alex stopped. “Wanna use your keys, sweetheart?”

Michael smiled and kissed Alex’s forehead. “Yeah.” He pulled his keys out of his pocket. “Is this a big deal?”

“Yeah, it kinda is a big deal.”

He turned the key in the lock and opened the door. “You first, baby.”

Alex took his hand and tugged him through the doorway. “Welcome home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A belated Merry Christmas to all of you, thank you for reading! I'm going to take a short writing break, like maybe 7-10 days, then I'll pick Fade Into You back up. 
> 
> For anyone who doesn't know: Robitussin is a really vile-tasting cough syrup. Tamales are a traditional Christmas dinner in Mexican households. Sparkling apple cider is a popular Christmas dinner drink where I live, I don't know if it is elsewhere. I threw in the line about Michael thinking Alex has nice feet because Vlamis commented on Tyler's feet recently lol.


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